Non Somnium
by IvoryStar
Summary: Mandy grew up playing the games of our world. But after being suddenly thrown into Spira, she’ll have to survive on what she does and doesn’t know and discover things she never imagined. This is her story, and she’s not happy.
1. Chapter 1

There are few things in my life that I actually enjoy. One of them is my ability to walk. Just going outside and being able to go somewhere other than my house is the most amazing thing to me. I don't have a car or my license but that's alright for now. Because I can go anywhere my legs take me.

Another thing is school. Now don't get me wrong, school pretty much blows because I can't like…walk where I want or go outside but I have to say, it beats being home.

Now…you may be wondering what's so bad about my house. Remember that there are few things in life I enjoy—home is not one of them. Basically my home life blows harder than school. But it's not from lack of trying: I work my ass off to make it better but, well…take this for example:

I woke up this morning, take a shower and get dressed. I didn't take long—just threw on a shirt, skirt, and some boots. A bit of eyeliner, deodorant, and a brush through my hair is enough for me. In fact, I try to spend as little time there as I can. After pulling my hair in a ponytail, I'm out my bedroom door and down the stairs.

So anyway, I made my way down the stairs and was almost feeling pretty good. But then, of course, there was a crash in the kitchen and loud, thumping footsteps. I froze as the man I least enjoy came out of the kitchen and glared at me.

"Get out of my house and stop wasting my money with shit like that," he said, pointing to what I was wearing.

I glared at him. I didn't flinch at his voice. Instead, I descended the rest of the way down the stairs, grabbed my bag and left. One of my biggest regrets is that I always come back. I don't have anywhere else to go.

And so here I am now, walking to school, wishing for everything I'm worth that I actually had something of worth. I'm not really sure why my father is so against my existence. Maybe because I disapprove of his way of living. Maybe because I refused to do anything he told me to. Maybe because I look like my mom.

I sigh and the soft breeze around it carries it away. My mother. Yea, that would be it. As far as I can tell, my parents were actually in love when they got together. Sounds hard to believe seeing as how my father is just so damn _angry_ all the time. But hey, I'm not one to judge—to each his own. Besides, I very vaguely remember that time.

I knew my mom for a little bit. I was five years old when she left. That's probably when Dad became the way he is now. She didn't say she was leaving or anything—she just took the car and left.

But that's where it gets weird. She didn't take anything—none of her clothes, none of her possessions—not even any of Dad's. And we found her car. Dad got a call from the police saying that they found Mom's car and that it had been involved in a huge accident but she wasn't there. No one saw her get out of the car and no one saw her walk away. The police didn't find anything weird—well, other than an empty car.

Color us completely confused and devastated. Secretly, I don't blame Mom for leaving. I would leave too if I could but sometimes—all the time—I wish she had brought me with her. I didn't care if I would have died. Anything to get away from Dad.

Behind me, there's a shout and I turn around and see Jake, my best friend and the only person who can tolerate me. He's running towards me with a bundle of folded up paper and when he's next me, he unfolds them and shoves them in my face.

"Check it out! Artwork for the new Final Fantasy game."

Did I mention that Jake's also a total nerd and loved himself a good game—especially a good Final Fantasy game. It was endearing to listen to him go on for hours about all of the characters, plots, summons, and items. He even made me play a game once…I didn't finish it but the fact that I played _some_ of it was an amazing thing in and of itself. And of course, he was beyond excited about the prospect of a new game to play—the tenth installment of the long series.

I can't help but smile at this. "That's awesome; I bet you can't wait for it to come out."

I push back the paper slightly so I can take a proper look at it and before me is a blond teenage looking guy with a strange outfit and holding a blue sword. He's standing knee high in water and I have to say—it kind of looks pretty good.

Jake lowers the paper when I'm done and starts jabbering away about past games, school assignments, and other things. Not only is Jake a game fanatic, he's also kind of A.D.D. and will talk about anything and everything in the span of only fifteen minutes.

I'm pretty much used to it and just walk along next to him, not really paying attention to what's around me. I grew up around here; I know what's around me. Houses and houses and suburban areas, and a school. Not exciting at all. And, if you walk a good hour or so, you'll get to the more urban area. Other there is where Mom disappeared.

I look up at the trees, noting how green they were becoming. Summer was coming and with it the end of the school year. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. No school meant being at home more but hey, that also meant more time at Jake's. It won't be so bad.

I'm so absorbed in this thought and my thought span, that I don't notice at first that Jake's shouting something at me. I wonder why he's shouting and turn to ask but he's not there. Confused, I look for him and see him some twenty feet away with a panicked look spreading across his face. And then something clicks.

"Mandy! Move!"

I wasn't paying attention to where we were going. I didn't turn with Jake when he did and instead continued on a bit further, into the middle of the road. That's where I am now. How stupid. But why he's shouting at me is lost to me as I make my way over to him.

But it soon becomes apparent as there's a loud noise and I look behind me and see a very large truck bounding towards me. It's going too fast to stop and I can't move fast enough to avoid it. I close my eyes and wait for the collision.

Suddenly everything is quiet. Jake's shouting is gone and so is the truck's. I think: well damn, that didn't hurt at all. I think: death is pretty quiet.

"You're not dead."

I spin around in the direction of the voice and knock into something but ignore it. In front of me is a young boy who probably comes up to my shoulders. He's wearing a blue hood and dark purple shorts—so dark they almost look like regular jeans. I can't see his eyes because of the hood but I see a slight smile curving on his lips.

I shake my head and for the first time I look around me. I'm still standing in the middle of the road, the truck is still here—it's what I knocked into—and I shutter knowing that it definitely hit me. When I turn around and look past the boy, Jake is still looking panicked. But there's something different about them: they're frozen in place.

Curious, I run over to Jake and poke him. He doesn't move. "I'm dreaming then," I say while turning towards the boy again.

He shakes his head and chuckles. "No, you are very much awake. And it's time."

I blink and walk towards him after a quick glance back towards Jake. "What? Time for what? What's going on? I swear to God—if I'm dreaming…"

The boy chuckles again and turns away. "As I said, you're not dreaming. It's time for many stories to begin and end."

Frustrated, I sigh. "Stop being so cryptic—tell me what the hell is going on!"

"You will see."

I'm still confused and am growing more and more angry at this kid. Sure, I love ambiguous things as much as the next person but not when there's a possibility of me being dead or alive or even awake and asleep. I don't feel asleep and I don't feel dead so what the hell?

But the boy doesn't say anything else. Instead he walks away and now thoroughly pissed off, I go after him but the dream factor goes into affect again and he slowly disappears. I stop in my tracks and stare after him. What is going on?

But I don't have long to wonder. Suddenly everything goes white and I feel as though I'm falling. I open my mouth to scream before I stupidly think: 'why am I screaming? This is stupid.' But there's nothing stupid about it. All I see is white and I'm falling and falling and falling. It happens so fast that even if I wanted to flail or scream or just plain _do something_, I can't.

I slam into hard surface. My body is screaming with pain but I don't care. I'm happy I'm not falling anymore. The ground is my friend and if I could, I'd hug it and kiss it. But I have dignity and instead, I force my eyes open and my head up and look around me.

I expect bright light but instead, I'm greeted with a massive city. Its nightfall and all around me is people running to and fro although they all seem to be headed in one particular direction. As I look at them, they all have one same expression: one of panic—the look of Jake.

With some effort I stand up and take a few tentative steps and notice there's something different about my boots. I look down at what I'm wearing and growl sounds in my throat at the sight of it. That damn kid…Instead of my comfortable shirt, skirt and boots, I see a pin-striped black with lace trimmings and a silver zipper down the middle. I'm also wearing a short black skirt with two small black pouches hanging on a leather belt. It doesn't take me long to figure out it's replaced my backpack. Knee high boots with buckles and laces complete the outfit and I want to kill the kid for taking my comfort away from me.

But at the thought of the kid, I remember my plight and I turn towards where everyone is coming from. I soon see why they're running. Fire and crumbling buildings are everywhere and my jaw drops. Two questions form in my mind: where am I and what the hell is happening?

Unsure where to go or what to do, I do the stupidest thing I could: I go towards the crumbling buildings. My panicked logic says this: go where there's trouble; you'll find an answer.

And so I run. Past screaming people, past rubble and flames. As I run I take notice of everything around me. I'm in a city—that much is obvious. But it's far more advanced and different than what I've ever seen before. I could tell that if they weren't currently on the ground, the buildings would soar into the sky and tower over everyone. Vast bridges connect everything.

I'm not finding anything but I keep running and turn a corner and see a man in a red coat standing against a wall. He's the calmest person around despite the gushing water that's coming from the destroyed building behind him. I run towards him, thinking I'll get answers. A calm person is more logical than the panicked people around me.

"Hey!" I shout, panting hard as I slow down in front of him. He looks at me and I see a hint of surprise in his eyes but he quickly hides it. "What's happening—?"

I don't get my question fully out when there's another shout and I groan, tired of not getting answers. The man in the red coat turns away from me and looks behind me, fully ignoring me and I want to scream at this. I turn to, about to give the person who shouted a good kick in the ass when I freeze.

In front of me is a teenage boy probably not much older than me. He's wearing a pair of sort of black overalls with a short yellow jacket under them and yellow boots. Short blond hair and blue eyes tell me I've seen him before. Standing in front of me is the very same boy in the picture that Jake shoved in my face earlier.

"Oh my God."

* * *

Hey guys! Yes, I'm writing one of these. Hopefully it won't suck. This idea has been in my head for a while (probably for 4 years lol) and I'm just now getting to it. I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter and it's probably the easiest thing I've written so far.

I don't know how frequent updates will be since this is the first chapter I've written but I promise I won't take months and months to do it. I do want to take my time with this though and try my best to do a good job. Tell me what you think though, that's always nice!

Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this and I hope you'll keep reading in the future!


	2. Chapter 2

My brain is not working. My mind is not processing this right. I'm truly dreaming. There is no way that the guy from that Final Fantasy artwork Jake showed me is standing in front of me. There's no way. Absolutely no way.

But yet…here he is. He's talking, saying something to the guy in the red coat. I think somewhere in there; he said the guy's name is Auron. And Auron is the picture perfect example of calm and collected. He doesn't say anything to the boy—just turns to me and says something.

I blink my eyes and look at Auron. His look is steady and his eyes are like steal. I can guarantee that I look like a crazy person—my eyes are bugged out and my jaw is slack. But Auron is probably used to this and walks up to me and grabs my shoulder and gives it a rough shake.

"Your name," he demands. His voice suits his everything. It's sharp and rough. There are two very large swords strapped to his back but he carries them like they're nothing. He's wearing sunglasses and they barely cover the scar that slashes through one eye while his one remaining eye stares into me. That's what compels me to speak.

"A-Amanda…" I manage. My voice is weak and it cracks. It's slightly annoying but I have bigger things to deal with. Like this city being destroyed around me and why this Auron guy is looking at me so intently.

"You are Victoria's daughter." He doesn't say it like it's a question. He says it like it's a known fact and I can only stare at him in wonder. Not many people call her by her real name but I know it just the same.

I gap at him more, wanting to slap myself and him. "How do you know my mom!?"

There's a crash behind us and Auron doesn't answer my question. He barely looks at me and barely looks at the guy behind me before walking away. The guy runs after him, looking as confused as I feel. We're running through the city, opposite the direction of the running people, trying to catch up with Auron. Apparently, the guy can run like a god and it's not until we're on an overpass, one of the huge connecting bridges, until we find him.

But before we reach him, a familiar white flash appears, and I groan, wanting to thrash out and kick everything around me. That stupid kid. When the white is gone and I can see, I look around and see the guy standing next to me. Everything around us is frozen—like the street when I got hit by the truck—except us. And that kid.

He's standing in front of us and I trade glances with the guy before looking over at him.

"It begins," he says in his slightly amused and cryptic voice.

The guy next to me is confused and I want to scream because this is the same thing he said to me earlier.

"Don't cry," he says.

Before I can begin screaming at him, he vanishes and the world around us is moving again. The guy next to me spots Auron but unlike him, I don't run. I turn slowly, trying to think of everything that little kid has said to me but nothing strikes a cord, nothing comes up as being Important and for the life of me—I cannot figure out what the hell he's saying.

"Look."

Auron's voice is suddenly next to me and I shake myself out of my daze to see that he and the guy are with me again.

"Look," he says again in his calm voice. The guy and I look in the direction he's faced. "We call it Sin."

The guy staggers back, a gasp escapes his mouth and the breath is sucked right out of my lungs. Up in the sky, hovering over the city like some small planet, is a huge water orb. It's rotating slightly and somehow, I know that it's what's causing the city's destruction around me.

"Sin?" The guy beside me asks, confused. I think he's calming down a bit but not me.

I'm still staring at the thing, breathing hard. "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

But I don't get to be. I don't get to be anything. Not two seconds after we see it, a _thing_ shots out from the orb and lands on the overpass some distance from us, its tail whipping the air around it as other _things_ fall off and scatter around us. Like gargoyles, they spread their wings and stand around us menacingly ready to attack.

The bridge groans from this new assault and my eyes bug out and the guy with me is obviously weirded out and runs at one, arms flailing and then falls over. If the situation had been any different, I would have busted out laughing mercilessly.

But Auron, being ever calm and stoic, simple walks over to us and pulls out one of the huge swords strapped to his back. He hands it to the guy. "Take it. A gift from Jecht."

The guy stares at it and then Auron, unsure and extremely surprised. "My old man?"

Auron gives a sharp nod. "I hope you know how to use it, Tidus," he says curtly. Oh. So that's his name. Tidus nods and stands, a look of seriousness taking over his features. Satisfied, Auron reaches into his coat and pulls out a small red weapon, not much longer than a foot. "This is a tanto—it belonged to your mother."

I look up sharply at him at the mention of my mother before taking it. It's light in my hand and I grasp the hilt and pull it out of its sheath. A wave of disappointment hits me harder than when I landed on the ground earlier. The blade, while sharp and gleaming, looks no bigger than the butcher knife at home. In fact it looks smaller…

"What the hell," I scream, swinging it around and pointing it Tidus. "He gets a huge-ass sword and I get a little _knife_!"

Tidus looks like he wants to laugh and Auron looks at me sharply. He's about to say something but doesn't get a chance when suddenly there's a _thing_ flying at me. I shriek, slashing the dagger out in front of me and slice through the gargoyle-thing trying to kill me.

There's no blood and I stand in shock as the thing falls to the ground with a long and sleek gash through it. And slowly it disappears, little orbs of light and color floating out of its body. It's the weirdest thing that's happened so far and I know for sure now that I'm not dreaming. Who almost dies in a dream?

Auron is still looking at me, obviously satisfied and turns to the other winged creatures that are gathered around us. He's pulled out his other sword, one probably bigger than Tidus's and I curse the world for having some tiny little one.

"What the hell was that?" I yell at him, wishing one of the collapsing buildings would just crush them all.

"Sinscales," he explains and it takes a moment to register in my head what it is he said. "Like Sin's children, they spawn from his body. These ones don't matter," he says, obviously trying to give us some pointers on the finer things of fighting, "we cut through!"

Tidus and I nod our heads like good little fighters and he and Auron rush forward, swinging their swords out and cutting through the creatures. Not really knowing what to do, I run after them, slashing at some who try and claw and bite at me. I know it's not the best I can do but—damn it! I have no idea what I'm doing!

Tidus, once he got used to the weight of the sword, is actually pretty fluid with his movements and is quicker than even the Sinscales trying to get at him. Auron is more brutish and just clangs his huge sword on them, strength and just general manliness winning overall.

But after making our way through what seemed like a wall of winged creatures, our path is blocked by the huge _thing_, the Sinspawn, which landed earlier and sent the creatures towards us. It's more of a huge tentacle thing and Tidus is not happy to see it. "Get out of my town!" He screams at it.

Auron, wasting no time, runs at it and brings down his sword on the body of it. One of the tentacles whipping in the air disappears with the same light and color as the other smaller winged creatures. Tidus does the same and it the thing makes lets out a loud shriek and it dons on me that its source of energy is what Auron and Tidus are attacking. The tentacles are dying because they have no energy. Very hesitantly, because I'm not one to run at things that try to kill me, I run towards it and try my luck at it.

I'm probably not even half way to it when I realize that 1) I have a tiny dagger and that 2) it's not really enough to do what I need to do. So…I do what comes to mind first: I jump at it with a sudden burst of energy and kick my foot off of the main body of the monster to propel myself up farther. With barely a second to reach, I slash my dagger out and cut off a tentacle. Before I even have a chance to be proud of myself, I land on the ground and do an awkward roll back to Auron and Tidus.

I break out a small smile and laugh. "Oh man, that was awesome."

But even still, at a decent distance away from the thing, I don't get a chance to enjoy it. From where I'm standing, I can see the thing tense up then, as if I'm watching it in slow motion, energy pools around the top of it and it sends it rushing back to us.

We're hit with a wave of energy and it shatters the air around us like a wall. It very vaguely hurts and although it disorients me for a second, I shrug it off and ignore the sensation. Tidus runs at it again and hacks away a tentacle. It's almost a dance to watch as the Sinspawn sends the energy back towards us and Auron attacks it once again.

Slowly we hack our way at the Sinspawn to the point where it's nothing but a stub and we continue on. Secretly, I'm proud of myself but really, I refuse to let it get to me. I could be impaled by anything at any second and that's not cool. With that thought in mind, I keep focused.

All around us is fire and crumbling buildings but we just run past them. I'm at my wits end for being dumped in a dying city when Tidus slows down and stares at a very large TV like thing that's about as big as the building it's on. It's got an imposing and, dare I say, pretty cocky looking guy with a red bandana and his arms crossed.

Tidus glares at it and scoffs. "What are you laughing at old man?" I'm about to yell at him to hurry up when he turns and shouts at Auron. "Let's get out of here!"

His body is pointing in the direction we came from and I glare at him, wanting to throw my dagger at him. But I take a deep breath. That won't be good, I tell myself. He's got a huge sword, I tell myself. If I stab him, he won't help us.

Luckily, Auron unwittingly saves him by stepping forward. "We're expected."

But that doesn't help because I'm tired of things being cryptic and ambiguous. I think maybe Tidus is too and he gives out a confused "huh…" before Auron runs away again. I sigh exasperated and Tidus, obviously as annoyed as me, shouts, "gimme a break, man!"

But having no choice, we trade glances again and run after him. He's still running when we catch up to him and I'm trying to ignore my tired limbs. I may be young and thin but I am certainly not in shape. A small voice deep down says that soon, I will be with the way I'm going now.

We don't get very far before more Sinscales show up. And when I mean more, I mean more and I groan as they all just line up, all wanting a piece of one of us. Tidus rushes forward and cuts one down but it's immediately replaced by another.

I do the same, hoping to maybe create some kind of path but I'm greeted with the same results. I contemplate throwing down my dagger and leaving when Auron points his sword over to our right. Hanging off the bridge is a thing of machinery that I've never seen before in my life. Not even in movies about with high tech military weapons and stuff. But I remember I'm somewhere far more advanced than home and quickly suspend my disbelief, thinking that it's there because duh, it can be.

"That," Auron said, knocking me back into reality, "knock it down."

I stare at him and then the machine. It's about six times larger than me and I know that there's no way in Hell I'm gonna move it with my little dagger. But Tidus nods and runs towards it, smacking against it with this sword and moving it over just a little. Auron follows soon after and does the same.

I'm left standing by myself as they attack the machine. Honestly, I'm not going near it. It's spurting out nasty sparks of electricity and I don't fancy getting electrocuted. But I have to do something…

Out of the corner of my eye, a Sinscale bounds up at me and gashes my arm. I let out a scream of pain and grab my arm, hand trying to keep it from bleeding too badly. Auron glances behind him and sees me.

My mouth is hanging open in pain and the edges of my eyes are growing black from it all. Well this is it, I think; I'm finally going to die and all because of this stupid flying _thing_. I'm angry at it but all I can do is sink down to my knees and try and hold myself up. I know I'm not dreaming—I really do. Dreams can't hurt this much…

A small white light envelops me and for a moment I think that kid is back to talk to me. But nothing freezes. Instead, the pain is gone and I look down and see that the gash in my arm is slowly disappearing. There's no mark, not even a scar.

"Pay attention," a gruff voice says. I look up and see Auron turning back to the machine that Tidus has almost knocked over. "We have a limited potion supply."

I get the warning in his words. Pay attention and don't waste our supply. I nod and stand up while Auron helps Tidus. A Sinscale goes after them and I run up behind it, avoiding some others that are clawing at me, and force my dagger into it and kill it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see another one and do the same. Clearly, I'm on a role.

But I don't have time to enjoy it. Auron and Tidus have knocked over the machine and I'm pulled away by them, tripping over rubble and my own feet to try and keep up with them.

"Go!" Auron shouts and I'm doing just that.

A loud explosion rocks the bridge and I quickly glance back and see that a huge ball of flame and bridge has erupted and killed the creatures. But it comes at a cost. The bridge can't take it and it splits in half. Like any broken bridge, the side we're on begins to crash to the ground bellow us and I think that this time for sure we're going to die but we keep running. It's the only thing we can do.

Auron makes a flying leap toward the other half of the bridge. He somehow makes it despite the huge sword he's carrying and he turns towards us. Tidus and I are still running, desperate to make it to Auron before it's too late.

And then I look on in horror as the worst thing that could happen does happen. The huge orb of water, the small planet that hovered over the city, is before us. How I missed that, I don't know and I don't care. After tucking my dagger into my belt loop, Tidus and I jump towards Auron.

I'm not athletic; I'm the first to admit this. If someone had told me a month ago that I was about to make an Olympic worthy jump thirty feet into the air to grab onto a bridge, I would have laughed in their faces. But here I am, doing just that.

The jump ends too suddenly; I have no time to prepare myself for what to do. My hand hits something solid and from pure instinct, I grab onto it and hold on for dear life. I hear a grunt beside me and I know that Tidus has made it as well.

I look up from where I'm hanging on and try to pull myself up. My legs dangle in the air and I hope beyond hope that nothing grabs at them. Auron walks to the edge were Tidus and I are hanging and he looks at us and then at the water orb—at Sin.

"Auron!" Tidus shouts, trying desperately like I am to pull himself up. "Auron!"

I don't say anything. My heart is pounding in my chest and adrenaline is pumping through me. I stare at Auron with wide eyes, wondering why he isn't helping us. My hands slip a little, gravel scrapping them and I whimper.

"Auron!" I shout with Tidus, as the bridge gives a shutter and detaches itself from the rest of it. I hold on even tighter as it jerks my body a few inches off. "Oh God, please help!" I don't want to die, I don't want to die.

But Auron is still looking at Sin and I see the water disappear to reveal a warped body of tough skin that I know is impossible to penetrate. It's sucking in everything around us, along with the bridge.

"Are you sure?" Auron asks, looking up at it. I can't believe he's talking to it. But Auron gives a nod, as if having understood something. He looks down at us and grabs my arm and pulls me up with almost no effort.

I'm on my hands and knees, taking everything that I'm not dangling anymore. I can feel a dull soreness in my arms from when I was hanging on. I look behind me and see Auron has picked Tidus up by his collar and is holding him there.

"This is it," Auron says quietly. I'm staring at him with quiet fascination and my hands find my dagger. It's a huge relief to know that it's still with me.

"This is your story," Auron continues. I know he's talking to both Tidus and I. "It all begins here."

What's left of the bridge is almost completely inside Sin above us and Tidus's legs are lifted up by it so that he's floating in the air with Auron holding onto him. Rubble and debris float above us, the last remnants of the city below. And then we're sucked away.

* * *

A/N: OK. So. That's chapter two. I meant to post it sooner but I ran away to Florida and I just got back. Yup…

I'm trying my best to make Mandy a real human being. The biggest problem I have with these kinds of fics is that, after the main character gets sucked away into Spira or The Fantasy World, they just seem way too dang happy and unquestioning for their situation. Personally, if I was in Mandy's shoes—I'd crawl into a corner, pass out and never come out.

But Mandy doesn't do that cause she's the heroine of this story and as such, she has to be a little brave. But also human—hence her ever questioning self and anger at not getting answers.

Also. I should point out: I'm no sword fighting/karate kid/weapons master/whatever. I don't know the names, fancy terminology, or proper fighting techniques, styles, whatever. I'm like Mandy, just going along with whatever works best. I'm learning as I go but I'm probably gonna do a little bit of research on it all.

So yea, those are my Author Tidbits for this chapter. Again, I _really_ hope you liked it. Tell me what you think! There's more coming so just stayed tuned!


	3. Chapter 3

"Manda-bear."

I roll over, whimpering and I feel wet. I'm vaguely irritated because no one has called me that in over ten years. Everything is white and I don't want to wake up.

"Amanda, wake up."

The voice is somewhat familiar. I'm having trouble placing it. I know it but can't remember. Who's voice is it?

Manda-bear…the last person to call me that was…

"Mom!" I yell, sitting up.

The white flashes away and around me is the city, frozen in its destruction. But that doesn't matter because standing in front of me is my mom. She's staring at me with a slight smile, eyes happy. I have no doubt it's her. Blond hair like mine, blue eyes _just_ like mine. Except she's taller than me but I guess I had to get something from my dad right? But that doesn't matter because she's standing there, after so long. My chest closes up and suddenly it's hard to breathe.

"Mama?"

She doesn't say anything, just keeps staring at me with her little smile. I want her to say something, anything. Just to hear her talk. I slowly walk up to her, so see her better. But when I get closer, it's not her anymore, it's me and I'm floating. But it's not me. It's me ten years ago. My hair is shorter, much shorter and I look impossibly sad.

"Hey, wake up."

There's another voice, neither mine nor my moms and I'm confused because I am awake. I roll over again and I feel myself get pushed back down. How annoying.

"Wake up!" I get shoved roughly and then suddenly I'm sitting up.

I open my eyes and look around me. The mini-me is gone. The city is gone. Instead, I'm at some other destroyed place with water _everywhere_. It's chilly and I pull my legs together to try and get some warmth. I look around me and I see pillars coming from the water, collapsed walls and fog. The sky is black and gray and lightning comes from the sky.

Something touches my shoulder and I tense up, ready to attack whatever it is, but the voice that follows makes me stop. "Are you alright?"

I look and see Tidus looking confused and concerned. "Yea…yea, I'm fine," I reply. My voice is weak and I know I sound a little defeated. Tidus though, looks understandably confused and as defeated as I sound.

"So um…" Tidus scratches his head and looks around. "We should probably find shelter or something."

"Good luck with that," I grumble as a stand up. Something feels odd around my waist and I look down and see my dagger still tucked away. Relief washes over me that I have something familiar but it's short lived because it's about as unfamiliar as anything else around me.

Tidus looks away and at our surroundings. I look down spot his sword, the one that Auron gave him. I quickly look up. "Where's Auron?"

Tidus lets out a heavy sigh and keeps looking around. "I don't know. Knowing him, he's probably seething we're not with him." I want to laugh but I can't. He's probably right. But something catches Tidus's eye and he points out to it, a small spark of hope lighting up in his eyes. "Hey, what's that?"

I take my gaze off of him and look to where he's pointing. Over in the distance, across from us and on a small island of rubble, is a small glowing blue circle. I squint at it, trying to make out what it is. "I don't know…"

"Let's go see what it is!" Tidus is like a little kid, excited and a little annoying.

I sigh and look at the water. It's cloudy and I have no idea how deep it is. "I don't know…I don't really want my clothes to get wet…"

But Tidus has grabbed my hand and is pulling me towards the water. I yelp and try to smack his hand off but he only grabs my other hand and pushes me in. The water is cold and I kick up to resurface. From what I can tell, the water is very deep and I have to keep myself floating. I come up sputtering with water going everywhere.

"What the hell?" I scream at Tidus but he doesn't say anything and just grabs his sword and jumps in after me. He makes floating with the thing easy and I curse him for being athletic. Wordlessly he swims off after whatever he saw and I have no choice but to follow him.

Tidus is an expert swimmer and I have a hard time keeping up with him but I somehow manage. We come up to the destroyed platform and climb up on to it. There are four columns on the right and on one of them is the blue circle. Tidus walks up to it and I stand back awkwardly, not know what to do.

"Something's written here," he says and leans closer to examine it but shakes his head just mere seconds later. "Nope, can't read it."

That catches my attention somehow and I come up next to him and gently touch his shoulder to move him aside. I examine the blue thing and notice it has a swirl inside it and words written:

_Eh dra myht frana pumdc uv mekrd emmisehyola dra pmylgacd hekrd, fedr _Macalania_ pareht dra vuindr bemmyn oui cekrd, mug hud uh dra mard pid uh dra nekrd_.

"Um…what?" I say when I'm done reading it. "What the heck does that mean?"

"Beats me," Tidus says. "Let me see again." I'm pushed to the side by him and I let out another yelp.

"Hey!" I half heartedly say but something on the same platform catches my attention. I walk around some fallen pillars, water trailing behind me, and find a chest. "Oh sweet!" I say and run up to it and open it.

But I'm disappointed at what I'm greeted with. A few little metal coins with some strange writing on it. I look at them closely and see some strange form of English but it's hard to read. Tidus comes up behind me and sees them. "Oh, you found some Gil."

I blink, confused at first but then Jake's ramblings and my own past dealings with the Final Fantasy games come back to me. Gil…money…I pick them up and shove them in the pouches on my belt. It might come in handy.

I hear a splash behind me and see Tidus back in the water. I walk up to the edge of the platform and with a sigh I jump in after him. Might as well explore while I'm still wet, I think to myself.

Tidus takes the lead and he swims towards two large arch ways that lead through another platform and a narrow walkway. Having no choice, I follow him and we step on it. My clothes are dripping wet and I can feel an unpleasant amount of water in my boots so I quickly unzip them and take them off and dump out the water before following Tidus who's walking on the stone path way.

"Where are we?" I ask and Tidus shrugs although I wasn't expecting an answer.

We walk down the pathway and up some stairs before coming to another platform and a very narrow and very decrepit bridge that's barely holding itself up. Tidus steps onto it with no second thought but I stop.

"Oh no," I say, shaking my head, "that thing looks like it's about to fall over itself. I am not going across that."

Tidus looks back at me before shrugging again. "Suit yourself. I guess you could swim but we'd be split up…"

He lets his words linger in the air and I hear what he's really saying. He knows I don't like the swimming. He also knows that if we're split up, we'd be kind of screwed over. After a moments thinking, I sigh and kick a small pebble at my feet and follow him.

Weirdly enough, it stays up and doesn't creak or crumble under me and the tension I didn't know was in me eases up. Tidus takes off running but I slowly walk after him. I don't feel like falling off the thing or anything.

The fog has lessened up a little here and ahead of me, I can see the dome of what must be the main building of where ever we are. Holes are in it and a small stream of water is rushing in through one of the walls. Awesome…our only shelter in sight is being filled with water…

Tidus has run off to the side—on a branch off of the bridge and I look to where he's running and see another chest. A weird sense of hope beams in me as I wonder if it's money or something equally important. Or at least helpful.

He opens it and pulls out a strange bottle and examines it. Looking up to where I'm waiting for him he shouts, "Hey! I found a potion! Looks like it's better than the ones we have now!"

The ones we have now? I look in one of my pouches and see the Gil I found earlier and then look in the other one. Sure enough there's five neat little bottles. I wonder why I didn't notice them earlier.

I hear footsteps coming up next to me and I close up my pouch and see Tidus has come back and is running down the path in front of me. I follow him, walking a little faster this time and trying to ignore the annoying squelching my wet boots are making.

Tidus suddenly stops and, not noticing, I crash into him. I glare at him as he scratches his head in apology before he looks down in the water. Something has interested him and being curious, I look as well. Large air bubbles surface and something rushes by and I take a step back, a cold shiver that has nothing to do with my wet clothes rushes down my spine. Please don't let it be Sinspawn…

Suddenly the bridge gives a terrifying shutter and before we have time to react, it's collapsing under us and we land hard in the water. I force my eyes open, not caring about the murky water, and swim awkwardly out of the way as a huge chunk of the bridge comes down over me. Beside me I see Tidus racing towards the surface and I follow him, coming up with a huge gasp as I force air into my lungs.

I'm shaking and my lips are quivering and I'm trying not to be terrified. Lighting flashes over us and Tidus looks around, trying to figure out our next move. He still has hold of his sword and I'm glad.

Below me, there's a flash of green that breaks the murkiness and I scream as two large fish creatures jump out of the water and dive back in. I raise my head towards the sky and pray they don't get me and curse everything in the world for my being here.

"They're coming for us!" Tidus shouts and I whip my head around and see him kick himself out of the water and make a perfect dive back in.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I scream at him but I know it's useless. He's underwater and can't hear me…

My eyes follow him through the water and I see that he really is an expert swimmer. He swims away with lighting speed from the fish creatures and they follow him, just as fast. He then stops and faces them, sword at the ready and my eyes widen as I see that he's going to fight them underwater.

I tread in the spot I'm in, wondering what to do before making my way over top of where he is, take my dagger out and dive in. My swimming is nothing like his and it's a strain to keep from going back up to get some air. But I don't and instead swim as fast as I can towards a creature and plunge my dagger into it. It lets out a painful scream as a small amount of blood escapes it and it disappears in the same lights and colors that the Sinscales did.

Tidus gives me a nod for thanks and, with my lungs burning for air, I race back up to the surface and gulp down some more air. Tidus has taken out a few other creatures and I'm about to go after another one that popped up before it turns and starts swimming away. Not even halfway towards it, I stop swimming and stare after it confused.

A few seconds later, I know why it swam away as the largest creature I've seen yet comes busting out from behind some columns. My lungs are burning again but I ignore it as it comes into sight. It's about five times as large as me and has the body of the fish creatures but the throat of a bullfrog. Even in the murky water, I can make out entrails of past meals.

I gag when I see this and water comes in through my mouth. I'm suddenly aware of my burning lungs and rush up to the surface for air. Tidus is where I left him, still holding his breath and I want to know his secret.

The monster swipes at Tidus who manages to swim out of the way but not before taking his own swipe at it with his sword. From what I can see, Tidus's sword cuts through the monster's throat and blood bubbles up towards me and I remember I'm still up here, watching Tidus battle this thing with no help.

With a huge gulp of air, I swim back down and try to plunge my dagger into it but it does something weird. My dagger misses as it moves out of the way and starts glowing. It gives out a deafening growl and swims head on towards Tidus and I. Tidus pulls me out of the way as the creature crashes into the ruined building, bricks of debris falling into the water around us. It's an effort to avoid those as well as the creature.

I want to go back up for air and I think Tidus realizes this as he brings me back to the surface. We break through just as the monster reorients itself and turns towards us. I'm taking huge gulps of air again and Tidus looks around.

"There!" He shouts, pointing towards an archway. I hope it's shelter and, with one more gulp of air, I let Tidus take me by the arm and dive back into the water.

The monster, determined to catch us, swims after us and I know Tidus is handicapped by dragging me and his sword so I swim too, trying to get us some more speed. The monster is trailing us by inches and I feel my boot brush against its rough mouth. I shiver and swim harder. The archway is coming up and we're mere feet away from it when we feel the water around us being sucked away. All of my effort is shot and I'm slowing down. My arms are becoming weak and I can feel tears escaping my eyes but they are pointless against the water. I look to my left but all I see is the monster's mouth.

Tidus gives out some more powerful kicks and just as I'm about to give up, we make it through the archway and in the small chamber. But we don't stop. We're still swimming hard when we slam against a stair case, half underwater. The monster has crashed into the doorway and there's a mighty sound as the building collapses around the opening we came through. I'm breathing hard, staring at it. My body is shaking as I realize what just happened and realize that we're safe—if only for the moment.

Tidus is also breathing hard but he's standing. He looks up the staircase and touches my shoulder. "Come on, we should look around."

I nod, stand up, and follow him up the stairs. They're just as decrepit as the rest of the place and various chucks of the building line them and it's hard to not trip over it all. By now I don't care about my wet clothes or boots—I'm just happy to still be alive to notice them.

At the top of the stairs we come into a large room. I look up and recognize the dome I saw earlier and look around. It's large and circular with balconies lining the second and third floors. There's debris and chunks of building everywhere and water is running through areas of the ceiling like tiny waterfalls. In the very center, there are remains of a fire.

Just then, at the thought of _fire_ my body gives out a tremendous shiver and I realize just how cold I am. I think Tidus has also realized his as teeth start chattering and his arms wrap around himself to try and keep him warm.

I do the same but walk to the center of the room. "We have to make a fire," I say. Tidus instead nods and runs from the room. I'm left by myself and, unsure of what to do, I turn and sit. My lips are quivering from the cold and I rock my body, trying to create movement and warmth.

I don't know how long I sit there before I hear a rustling behind me and, afraid it's another monster-thing, I whip around with my dagger but I calm down when I see Tidus. He's standing in front of me with a withered bouquet of flowers and some large egg shaped rocks. I quirk my eyebrow at him but he just shrugs and sets the flowers down and smacks the rocks together. I feel stupid for a second when I realize they're flint and even smile a bit when a small fire engulfs the remains.

I don't ask where he got the flowers or the flint. I guess he just got lucky in his search. We don't say anything and Tidus lies down on his back. I don't blame him—I'm exhausted too. But I don't lay down. I stare at the fire, trying to sort out my thoughts. From my count I almost died…at least six times. That's more than I really want to go through and I feel a surge of anger at why this all happened.

"That damn kid…" I say under my breath. Tidus rolls his head towards me and looks at me questioningly.

"That stupid kid," I say again, angrier. "That idiot kid—why the hell did he bring me here? What the hell did I do to deserve this?" The words are just rolling off my tongue and I can't stop them. Tidus doesn't say anything, just stares at me as if he's unsure of just what to say.

I take a shaky breath and let it out again. "I just want to go home…" Something wet lands on my hand and at first I think it's from my still wet hair but I can feel my cheeks are wet and I know it's not that. "I just want to go home…"

At the thought of home, my chest squeezes up. How long have I been gone? I don't know the answer to that and that hurts even more. Everyone is probably looking for me or worse, they think I'm dead. I was touching the truck when the kid froze everything and I know it hit me. And Jake…he saw it all.

The thought of Jake makes things worse. I let out a silent sob as I picture him, face full of panic and fear. Why did I have to come here? If anyone should be here—it should be Jake. He plays the games; he knows what happens and how things work. I don't. I don't know anything…

I look over at Tidus and I see his eyes are closed. I snort as I see that he's fallen asleep in his attempt to give me space. Again, I don't blame him. Now that I think about it, I'm exhausted as well. Closing my eyes, I push my previous thoughts away and lie on my back and let the pouring water lull me to sleep.

I don't know how long I was asleep but it feels like only seconds. I'm woken up to Tidus shouting and I open my eyes to see him trying to save the fire. I sigh and close my eyes, trying to fall back asleep again.

"Just hold on! I'll get more wood," Tidus says then and I hear him stand up. I wait for his footsteps but they don't come. "Amanda, get up."

"Ugh, call me Mandy," I say groaning and sitting up. My eyes are open and I look over at Tidus who's staring at something with a twinge of fear in his eyes. My eyes look to where he's staring and I see yet another monster standing on the rail of a balcony. I scramble up beside Tidus and grab my dagger. "What the heck is that?"

The creature, which…I don't even _know_ how to begin to describe, runs around the balcony before jumping down to meet us. It has long and sharp pincers which I'm sure could slash and cut through me. I'm not pleased with the thought but then again, I've survived worse—I'm sure I'll be fine now. I hope…

"Gimme a break," Tidus yells just as it lands in front of us and I couldn't agree more.

Without wasting anytime, Tidus jumps at it with his sword and slashes at it. It lets out an unpleasant shriek but I ignore it and slash at it with my own weapon. It jumps at us, swiping at Tidus with its large claws but he jumps out of the way just in time and gets with his sword again.

Hurt, and not wanting to risk going after Tidus again, it jumps at me. I'm not fast enough like Tidus and when he swipes my arm, I scream but unlike last time, I don't fall down. Instead, I dig through my one of my pouches and pull out a potion and yank off the top with my teeth and toss it in the air. It washes over me and baths me with a small white light and heals my wound. When I'm certain I'm fine, I run up to it and cut the same claw that got me with my dagger.

There's a sound outside of the large room but we ignore it. Tidus and I are staring at the creature, waiting for it to attack but there's an explosion on the other side of the room. Startled and thinking it's another monster, we look over and see a group of people wearing the strangest outfits I've ever seen. I thought Tidus and Auron's clothes were strange—heck, I thought my present out outfit was a little strange—but nothing compared to these guys with their goggles and jumpsuits.

One of them—a girl—walks up to us and takes a battle stance. I only know it's a girl because of her blond hair and jumpsuit. Let's just say it's an interesting thing to wear…

"You're on our side?" Tidus suddenly asks and I realize that she's standing with us. "Cool!" I wish I could be as happy as Tidus.

The girl doesn't say anything and just digs through a pouch like mine that's attached to her belt and pulls out what I think is a grenade. In fact I'm pretty sure it's a grenade seeing as how she's pulling out the needle and lobs it at the thing.

Without having time to cover my ears, the grenade explodes and I look in horror as a chuck of a claw lands about five feet away from me. I ignore my gag reflex and concentrate on the battle in front of me.

It turns out that the girl is pretty good with fighting—better than me, although that's not very surprising. From quick glances over at her, I see that she has a claw attached to her fist and sometimes will run at the creature and swipe at it. Sometimes she'll even come back with more grenades though I don't know where she got them.

Thankfully no more potions are needed soon the creature is dead before our feet, disappearing in more lights and colors. In happiness, Tidus throws his sword up in the air and catches it. My heart skips a beat when I see this and thank God he didn't drop it and skewer himself. That would be bad…

We stand around awkwardly for a few seconds, us staring at the girl and her staring back. She tilts her head back though and takes off her goggles and I see, minus her green eyes, that we could almost be twins. There's something odd about them though…something I can't place just yet…

Before I can think too deeply about it though, Tidus sinks to his knees, breathing out a long awaited sigh of relief. "Whew, that was close."

Yea…close…Personally, I'm getting sick of almost dying…

The girl looks around at her group though and before we can react, they come at us and we're grabbed up—Tidus by a blond bearded man and me by another one in goggles. They pull my air and I let out a pained gasp.

The rest of the group pull their guns on us and cock them. My eyes widen at the sight of them and I can only stare at them, hoping they don't fire. The girl is standing off to the side, not saying nor doing anything.

One of them begins to speak but it's in the strangest language I've ever heard. Having grown up around English and even Spanish, and having heard several other languages in my time, I can't place it and I curse the kid again for bringing me to such a strange and hostile place.

Our captors bicker amongst themselves and all Tidus and I can do is stand there hoping they don't do anything. It isn't until one of them pulls a knife to Tidus's throat that the girl finally says something and stops them. She says something in the language and the guy with the knife takes it away from Tidus and points it at her. Relief floods through me when I see it's not against Tidus's throat anymore.

I'm suddenly pushed away and I stumble forward and look up to see that Tidus and I have been let go. Hope rises up in me as I think we're being left alone. But that doesn't happen. The girl walks up to Tidus and, getting close to him whispers something in his ear and punches him in the stomach.

My mouth drops open and I can only gap at her and Tidus's fallen form. I feel myself being dragged off while Tidus is picked up by some of the men. The girl just walks off.

"What the hell!?" I shout, struggling against the men who have me. "Let go of me!"

There's more arguing amongst themselves and one of them takes something out of his pouch and sprinkles it over me. I squirm more but my resists are futile and soon I feel incredibly sleepy and I can't keep my eyes open any longer.

* * *

When I wake up, I see stormy skies and feel cold metal under me. Through my eyelids, I see bright lights and, knowing I can't keep them closed any longer, I open them and let them adjust. I see I'm on a ship—it's made of metal and there are people all around me. The same people who pretty much kidnapped me. I look to my side and see Tidus—he looks as if he just woke up as well.

The group of people notice we're awake and come up to us with their guns pointing at us. One of them jabs Tidus in the shoulder and he scoots back a few feet.

"Hey!" He says, glaring at them. "That hurts."

I don't think they care. In fact, I don't think they understand us. I certainly can't understand them either. They're talking to us in the language again but stop when a large metal door behind them opens up and the girl from earlier comes out followed by another man with overalls and tattoos all over his chest.

The guy shouts something and the girl comes over and lifts Tidus and me up. I'm tempted to glare at her but I know it's useless. I turn my attention to Tattoo-guy and see him making these ridiculous mimes. He's grunting things out and I can only stare at him with a quirked eye-brow. _What_ is he trying to say?

Tidus seems to be pretty much done with the whole ordeal. "Right, whatever," he says in a bored and completely uninterested voice. I resist the urge to laugh. Tattoo-guy seemed kind of annoyed and mumbles something in his language before pulling out a pair of goggles and miming something else. Tidus and I just stare at him.

"We said we don't understand you," I say, trying to make _him_ understand. This is a bad idea though since the other guys around us point their guns on us again. Luckily, the girl shouts at them and they lower them.

"He said you can stay if you make yourself useful," she says in a cheerful voice.

My mouth flies open at this. I am not the only gob smacked person and, after blinking for a few seconds, Tidus whips around to the girl. "You—you understand us?"

He's yet again thwacked by someone and, holding his head, he gives in. "Alright, I'll work!"

I sigh, hoping they don't hit us again. I sigh too because of what Tidus has just agreed to do. But this seems to please the people since they nod and walk away, standing at various places around the ship. Tidus looks at me and I shrug, unsure of what to do. Tidus shrugs too and walks up to the girl. I follow, hoping she'll talk to us and maybe, just maybe help us out for real.

When we come up to her, she snaps her figures together as if remembering something. "Oh! Almost forgot." I have no idea what she's talking about when she pulls out something—a strange board of some kind filled with notches and strange writing.

"This," she says handing us both one, "is a sphere grid. It's used for fighters to gain abilities and experience and stuff. You fill these notches up with spheres and you become more powerful and are able to do more advanced stuff!"

She's explaining it to us in great detail and is weirdly excited about it. From what I can tell, it ties into a person's being and is well…bonded with them somehow. It's all very confusing to me and only makes a little sense when she takes a tiny little red sphere and fits it into a notch of my board. Deep down, there's a weird tingling feeling and I can feel some sort of strange energy inside of me.

"That helps your speed," she explains and I nod, taking the board from her and studying it more. She fits Tidus's board with a sphere and then stands up. "We found some ancient ruins right beneath us," she says, going all business but still sounding cheerful.

Tidus and I stand at attention, listening to what she's telling us. My sphere grid is safely tucked away in one of my pouches and I think how weird it is that it fits perfectly.

"It's not active now," the girl continues, "but there should still be some power left. We're gonna go down and activate it and then we should be able to salvage the big prize!"

Tidus nods but I shake my head. "Wait…you mean…swim down there?" She nods and I shake my head again. "Sorry, but I can't hold my breath for that long."

The girl just shrugs. "You can stay up here then, it's no biggy. Now," she says, thrusting her fist in the air. "Let's get started!"

"Roger!" Tidus says before running to the rail of the ship and diving in. I'm beginning to think that Tidus rushes into things without thinking them through. The girl takes no time to follow him and dives in herself.

I'm left standing on the deck of the ship by myself. Awkwardly, and without knowing what else to do, I walk over to a corner by the large metal door and the rail and sit down. There are people going about their business, ignoring me but that's fine.

I look around and some feet away, I spot my dagger on the floor, its red sheath glimmering in the spot lights. I go over and pick it up and return to my corner. I look it over and see on the hilt a carving of a dragon. It's golden and looks fearsome. I remember Auron saying it belonged to my mother and I examine it more, trying to find something that could be her.

I shake my head though, and set the weapon down. It can't have belonged to her. She's gone, gone ten years ago. The kid wouldn't even have been old enough to bring her over! I look at the dagger again, trying to picture her using it but I can't. Something happened to her to the day she left but it wasn't her coming to this place. It wasn't, it wouldn't be…

* * *

I feel my shoulder being prodded and I roll over groaning. My head feels groggy and I cover my face with my hand. When did I fall asleep? I guess I'm just that exhausted…

I force my eyes open and standing in front of me is the girl holding a tray of food in front of me. I take it after a moment's hesitation and set it on the floor in front of me. To my left I see Tidus also has a tray of food and is going at it like nothing else. I stare at him for a second before a painful growl in my stomach makes me take a bit of the food which is this weird meat/noodle combination. I hadn't realized how hungry I am…

I hear a choking beside me and I look over and see Tidus waving a hand in the air, his other clasping his throat and coughing. I blink and just watch. It's kind of amusing actually…

"Hey!" The girl giggles at Tidus before tossing him a water canteen. Tidus is obviously grateful for this and chugs it and for a second I think he's going to choke on that as well. But he doesn't and just lets out a sigh of relief when his throat's all clear.

The girl kneels down beside him and smiles. "It's cause you eat too fast." I don't say anything—I just keep eating my food.

Tidus though is done with his and stands up and stretches. I watch him half heartedly and the girl stands up as well. "Hey," she says again.

Tidus stops stretching and turns around to her. "Hello there, what's your name?" He's talking like she's five years old and I snort from my spot.

But the girl just smiles and puts her hand on her hips. "Rikku." I nod, taking note of this. Her name is Rikku. Tidus though is overjoyed with her answer.

"Woah!" He exclaims, taking her by the hands. "You really do understand!" He jumps up a little and lets go of her hands, laughing all the while. I want to smack him for being so stupid and it looks like Rikku is a little bit put off. But Tidus doesn't seem to notice and when he's down laughing he turns around again. "Um…why didn't you say so earlier?"

I look up at this, interested. Rikku just puts her hands up in defense. "I didn't get a chance to," she says earnestly. "Everyone thought we were a fiend."

I blink, sure I'm losing some grammar in what she said. 'We were a fiend'? What? Tidus is also confused.

"Uh…we?"

"Oh!" Rikku says, as if remembering something. "Oui—O-U-I—means you."

Tidus and I are having trouble figuring that one out. My brain is working double—trying to figure out some language where I come from that says that. I know the French _oui_ is yes but I'm pretty certain it doesn't mean _you_...

"Um…" Tidus says, deeply confused as he turns around to where Rikku is now against the railing of the ship. "Who are you guys?"

"We're Al Bhed, can't you tell?" Rikku says this like it's the most obvious thing in the world. And I remember her eyes. Now that I can see them up close, I see they have swirls. It's kind of odd to see and I wonder for a second if they're contacts but I don't ask.

By now I'm done with my food and stand up with them, tucking my dagger in my belt. Rikku turns around then, a worried expression on her face. "Wait…you're not an Al Bhed hater, are you?" Tidus and I look at each other and shrug.

"We don't even know what an Al Bhed even is…" I say.

"Where are you from?" Rikku asks, leaning against the railing.

I don't answer, afraid that where I am doesn't exist here. Tidus though says a place called Zanarkand. He says it in the most nonchalant way, as if it's only an hour's drive out. Rikku stares at him blankly.

"I'm a blitzball player," he says when she doesn't say anything. When she still doesn't say anything, he demonstrates a kick and I roll my eyes. "Star player of the Zanarkand Abes?"

"Um…" I chime in, unsure. "I'm with him," I finish lamely.

Rikku though looks mildly concerned. "Did you…hit your head or something?" I snort and Tidus looks at her pointedly. "Oh right…" She has the grace to look ashamed. "Do you remember anything before that?"

Tidus takes a deep breath and walks up to the railing beside her. I take sit back down on the floor and stare out into the ocean. Tidus tells her everything about where he came from, from simple childhood memories to when it was attacked. He even tells her about what his house was like and the stadium that he played in. And he tells her about being sucked away with Auron.

He tells her everything and she just listens, never interrupting him once. I can tell he's becoming unsure about his stories and so am I. I saw it all with my own eyes—well just Zanarkand being destroyed but still—she could say something…right?

"Did I…say something wrong?" Tidus asks her this after being silent for a good five minutes.

Rikku doesn't answer him right away. "You guys were near Sin!" She says this wonderingly, as if realizing something. I want to know what it is. Tidus just nods and Rikku puts on a smile. "Don't worry! You'll be better in no time. They say your head gets funny when Sin is near. Maybe you just had some kind of dream?"

She says this like it's a question, like she's not sure herself. But I know. I know it wasn't a dream. That little kid told me himself I wasn't dreaming and it was far too real, too painful, to ever be a dream.

But Tidus doesn't think about that. "You mean we're sick?" He says this like it's the stupidest thing in the world. I have to agree…

But Rikku nods sagely. "Because of Sin's toxin, yea…"

"Are you sure?" I pipe up. They whip around and stare at me like they forgot about me. But Rikku just nods.

"Yea…there is no Zanarkand anymore. Sin destroyed it a thousand years ago. So…no one plays Blitzball there…"

That statement knocks the wind out of my lungs. Tidus's mouth is dropped open and I jump up from where I'm sitting. My hands are shaking a bit but I don't care because from what Rikku just said, I've transported _one thousand_ _years_ into the future. Tidus blinks for a few seconds and I stare at him, willing him to say something.

"What do you mean, a thousand years ago?" I ask when Tidus doesn't say anything. Rikku has left the rail and is standing a few feet from me. "But I saw Sin attack Zanarkand—I, we, were there!"

I can feel myself panicking just a bit but I tell myself not too, to let Rikku explain or something. I can't really be in the future…I'm barely having enough acceptance for being in a different _world_. I can't do this—I…I have homework I need to turn in!

Tidus comes from the rail and stands by Rikku. She looks unsure of what to say and finally some words come to her. "You say…you play Blitzball?" I want to scream out because this is no time to be talking about sports. I need to get home…

"You know," Rikku continues, oblivious to my plight, "you should go to Luca. Someone might know who you are or…you might find someone you recognize."

Oh, I think. It all comes together with great clarity. Rikku thinks we're crazy. Awesome…

"Luca?" Tidus asks. He doesn't know the place anymore than I do and Rikku groans at that.

Rikku then turns and walks around the deck, moving her hands around in front of her. I know she's thinking and I wonder about what. I hope it's not about how to get us to a mental hospital…

But she just claps her hands and smiles. "OK!" She says, determined, "leave it to me; I'll get you to Luca, promise."

Tidus and I look at each other again and she laughs. "You'd rather stay here?" With another look, we shake our heads no and she claps her hands again. "OK, I'll go tell the others, wait here."

She starts to leave and then stops, as if remembering something. "Oh…one more thing…" She points her finger at us both and glares a little. "Don't tell anyone you're from Zanarkand, k? Yevon says it's a holy place, you might upset someone." Tidus nods and when she's satisfied, she walks through the large metal doors.

I blink again and Tidus leans against the rails, a confused look on his face. I know he's thinking the same thing I am: Yevon? Holy place? Nothing makes sense. Sure, nothing made sense to me in the first place but…damn, now I'm blind and deaf in a completely metaphorical sense. Why couldn't I have fallen into the game that I actually played…?

But there are more pressing matters at hand. Like my being one thousand years in the future. I wonder how that could be…Where did I start in the first place? I know there's my time, where I live but…where did Zanarkand fall? In fact, where do I fall now? My brain is hurting and I just want someone—like that kid—to come and give me the answers…

"No way," Tidus suddenly says and he turns around and kicks the ship. Before I can even ask what he's doing, the ships starts rocking violently and Tidus falls over and rolls to where I'm standing by the rails. I grab his arm and pull him up and he nods his thanks. To my left I see his sword lying on the floor and I wonder how I didn't see it before. I point to it and he picks it up and straps it to his back.

Suddenly, behind us, something erupts from the water and Al Bhed start running from the inside of the ship. Tidus and I whip around to see what's going on and we see a large burst of water coming towards us.

"Sin!" One of the Al Bhed shouts and I get a cold shiver down my spine at that name. It's the first thing I've understood by them and it's a terrible universal word. Sin is here, it found us and dear God, we are going to die.

Water shoots up before us and Tidus and I look around, not knowing what to do. I hold onto his arm and the rail, trying to get some support with all the rocking and tossing of the ship. Many Al Bhed have fallen to the floor and some are holding on for dear life.

But my attempts are useless. A huge wave comes crashing up the side of the ship and before we can do anything, Tidus and I are swept up by it and carried into the sea. I scream and dig my nails into Tidus's skin, trying to hold onto something. The water disorients me and I can't see, I can't breathe. The Al Bhed ship is above us and the Al Bhed themselves stare on helplessly as we are carried away by the sea.

* * *

A/N: Heh…I didn't mean for this chapter to be so long but whatever. And poor Mandy, she doesn't understand anything. Hopefully that'll change in coming chapters.

Thanks guys for reading, reviewing, whatever the last two chapters. It was nice to wake up and see them lol. Now while you tell me what you think about this chapter, I'm going off to an Incubus concert.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm rolling over, yawning. The sun is beating down on me and I don't want to wake up. I had a great sleep—restful, full of dreams, and sleep. I don't want it to end.

I feel the sun and I smile with my eyes closed. It's warm, almost hot. It makes me feel like a child, when I would wake up early in the summer, the sun gleaming through my window, to have breakfast with my mother. She would sing to me and make pancakes with blueberries. I would smile and beg for powered sugar.

I roll over again, reaching for my pillow to pull it to me. But I don't find my pillow. My arms slip through something soft and loose. It flows through my arms and covers me. I'm confused, thinking I'm sleeping again but I know I'm not. The grogginess that comes with waking up after a good night sleep is with me and wearily, I open an eye to see what's covering my arms.

Sand. Warm, white sand. I stare at it, trying to make it make sense. Why is there sand? Why am I not in my bed?

I push myself up and turn myself around. My eyes are squinting in the brightness but I force them to stay open. Before me is an ocean, a pure blue twinkling ocean. I stare at it with the same intensity as I did the sand. My brain is still trying to process this. I pull my legs up to the chest and my boots brush against my arms.

Boots? I look down at them, the laces and buckles glinting. Oh. From when I was running from those monsters—fiends. I shake my head. Fiends?

And suddenly everything crashes down on me. Everything that happened—Tidus, Auron, Sin, Rikku—everything. I reach down to my belt and sure enough, Mom's dagger is there, gleaming in the sunlight and contrasting harshly against my black clothes. Clouds build up in my eyes and my throat closes up. I'm not home. Anger and despair bubble up in me and I grip my dagger, trying not to let my tears escape.

I force down my emotions, and tuck the dagger back into my belt. I stand up and decide to figure out where I am. I look around me and see that I'm on a small little beach surrounded by cliffs.

Something in the sand catches my eye and I see a chest, half buried in the sand. I go over to it and open it. Inside is a small silver pendent. It sparkles white and there's carving of crescent moon surrounded by delicate little stars. I turn it over, wondering what it is but it just has a small slot on the back. It feels small but powerful, like a small life cupped in my hands. Shrugging, I slip it into one of my pouches—it might be worth something sometime.

I look down at my pouches, remembering how they didn't bulge with the sphere grid and now, looking at them, they still don't. How strange…

I hear a shout in the distance and I look up, looking for the source. I don't see anything at first and jog over to the water and see someone out in the ocean. He's got blond hair and is waving at something. Tidus.

I take a few steps in the water so that I'm chest deep in it, wondering who or what he's waving to and see a group of men all dressed the same in blue jeans and yellow vests. They look like uniforms and I hope they can help us out.

One of them, the leader I guess, with a shock of orange hair shouts something out at Tidus. I look over at Tidus and see him dive into the water and shoot back up, a blue ball on his head and, with a spinning kick, he nails it back over to the uniformed group. My eyes bug out, wondering what the heck it was. The ball soars to the group and just barely misses the leader who crosses his arms, impressed. Tidus gives a cheer and starts swimming over and I decide to as well.

Because I'm such a shitty swimmer, I arrive at the group the same time Tidus does. I smile at him, standing a few feet away from everyone and squeeze the water out of my hair. Tidus though doesn't seem to care about this.

One of my hands is wrenched from hair and I stagger forwards as he takes hold of it—much like when he found out Rikku's name. "Mandy! You—you're alright!"

"Yup…" I say, pulling my hand away. "Just fine…just wet…"

Suddenly Tidus is gone from my line of vision. The group of guys has gathered around him and looking at him admirably. The leader, the one with the red hair (which I see is swiped up like a feather on a bird), walks up to Tidus who sheepishly scratches his head. "Yo…um…hiya?"

I shake my head and start squeezing out my skirt.

The guy with the red hair though is too flabbergasted to notice or even care about Tidus's eloquence. "You…wanna…do that again?"

Oh. They're all athletes, they all play the same sport. I roll my eyes—I've never been much into sports. I just wanna know where we are…Tidus though…well; he doesn't seem to really care where we are because he's seemed to have found people who understand him. Cool for him, I think as he pumps his fist in excitement. I bend over and dump the water out of my boots.

Soon he's given a ball and he kicks it up in the air and does the same move again, this time the ball going straight out into sea and not into anyone's head. Everyone cheers; I even let out a little clap. Hey—the boy's got talent at whatever sport he plays. Wish I could say the same about me…

Again, everyone is impressed and the leader seems satisfied. "You no amateur," he says in a strange accent. It reminds me of a vaguely of a surfer dudes voice. "Who you play for?"

"The Zanarkand Abes!"

Remembering Rikku's words from the ship, I let out a sigh and smack my forehead. Going up to him, I smack Tidus as well.

"Don't mind him," I say loudly as Tidus rubs the back of his head. "We got close to Sin's toxin…at least…that's what we were told." The words sounded like such a lie coming from my mouth and I resisted the urge not to cringe. Tidus seemed to realize his mistake and looked away embarrassed.

The people around us though started murmuring and talking amongst themselves. The leader also looked at us unsure. "You two friends?"

Tidus and I looked at each other. He blinked at me and I rolled my eyes. Before he could open his mouth to say something stupid though, I spoke.

"Yea—travel buddies."

The leader nodded sagely. "Sin's toxin got to ya. But!" he added, cheerful and even grateful, "you're still alive. Praise be to Yevon."

He and his group do the weirdest thing then. After spreading their arms out and bringing them back, they make a circle with their hands and bow. Tidus blinks, as if recognizing something while I just raise an eyebrow. What the heck is that? The moment is gone before I can ask and the leader is ordering his guys to get back to practice.

"I'm Wakka," the red haired man says, "coach _and_ caption of the Besaid Aurochs."

Besaid Aurochs? I guess that means…we're in Besaid? Where ever that is…

A strange sound comes from Tidus then and he doubles over, holding his stomach. I shake my head at him again.

"What you hungry?" Wakka says, seeing this. "OK! Back to the village—I get you something." And with that, he runs off to a path between the small seaside cliffs. Tidus and I share a look again. I can see plainly that he's starving and I shrug my shoulders and start following Wakka. Tidus wastes no time in following me.

Wakka has stopped to wait for us and when we approach him, Tidus stops as well. He looks like he's in deep thought and I wait for him to say something.

"Um…" he pauses, trying to get his thoughts together. "Its true Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago, right? So…it's just a big pile of rubble now…isn't it?" I can tell he resents having to say that.

Intrigued, I turned to face Wakka as well. His face has grown serious and he crosses his arms. "Long time ago," he begins, "there were a whole lot of cities in Spira—big cities, filled with machina—machines to run 'em. People played all day and let the machina do all the work. And then…well, take a look."

He gestures behind him, and I see for the first time, on top of the cliffs, ruins of a city long past. They look the same as the buildings we saw in Zanarkand—except ancient, decrepit.

"Sin came, and destroyed the machina cities," Wakka continues as both Tidus and I continue looking at the ruins. "Zanarkand along with 'em. Yea…that was about a thousand years ago, just like you said. If you ask me—Sin's our punishment for letting things get out of hand." I turn to look at him, to figure out what he's saying.

"What gets me though—is we gotta suffer for things some goof balls did way back when. Course, we must always repent for our sins—that's important. It's just that…it's hard to keep at it sometimes, ya know?"

His words linger around us and I look intently at the ground, the white sand. I'm reminded of my own home when Wakka finishes his story. My home, where technology is a must have and things are evolving every day, getting smaller and flashier—making life more convenient. But what Wakka said…where I live; we don't let all the machines do the work. Some people barely get to do anything besides work…

And suddenly I get an idea. Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago…their technology was far more advanced—at least what I had seen—than from where I came from. Could I be…from the past…from maybe even _two_ thousand years ago? The thought alone is overwhelming and the air inside me is forced out as I try not to let it consume me. What has that kid done?

Suddenly, I hear a loud laugh and I look over at Wakka.

"But you from the Zanarkand Abes," he says happily, grabbing Tidus and rubbing his head, "that was a good one, eh?"

The moment is lost as Wakka jokes around with Tidus. But I can't help but still feel the intense feeling inside of me, worry about being so far from my own time and home.

"Hey, I'm not say that team never existed, ya" Wakka continues, still holding Tidus under his arm. "But you gotta admit, a team living in luxury like that's gotta be pretty soft, ya?"

Wakka smiles and lets Tidus go, and throws a smile at me before walking off further down the path. I look at Tidus and see his head is hung. I can tell he's not on the same level with Wakka and that, while Wakka may have been trying to cheer him up, it didn't work. With a sigh, Tidus turns away from us and walks over to the water. I glance behind me and see Wakka is waiting for us, waiting for us to gather our thoughts and follow him.

Tidus is staring out at the ocean, deep in thought. I stare at his back, wondering what he must be thinking. He's in the same situation as I am, far away from his home and maybe even his time. I close my eyes. I don't believe we're from the past, I really don't. But what we've seen so far…everything we've been through…I'm not sure what to think anymore.

Is it best to just go with it? To let things take me where ever I go?

I open my eyes and look out into the ocean too. I could run out to it, swim until I can't swim anymore. I could scream and cry, till I can't anymore. I could go crazy with thoughts on where I am, how to get home. I could…

But I won't. My brain is telling me to think this through but…I don't know anything…My heart is telling me to go with Tidus and Wakka, see what they have to offer. Step one step at a time. I'll figure out how to get home later. Maybe…maybe I'll find something worthwhile. Maybe…

I open my eyes and nod my head at the ocean. "Right. I'm going to have fun. I'll do my best."

It's the strangest declaration I've made in my life. Have fun and do my best in a world I know nothing about. But deep down, a sigh of relief has been made, a weight taken off my shoulders.

"You coming?"

I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear Tidus's voice from behind. He laughs and I turn to whack him on the head. He's still laughing and I mockingly glare at him before marching off to where Wakka is. Quickly recovering, Tidus follows me and bumps into me before running off. With a small laugh I take off, following him.

"Hey! It's dis way!" Wakka says this when we catch sight of him and he runs to the right. We follow him and soon we're standing in a forested area, birds chirping pleasantly. There's a small cliff that plunges down to a deep river. The water is crystal clear though—much cleaner than the murky water from the ruins—and I can see colorful rocks and fish.

Suddenly I feel myself being pushed from behind. I let out a loud yelp and flail in the air, falling down to said river. Beside me, I see Tidus has also been pushed and we make a not so graceful land in the water. The hit stings and I'm disoriented but force my eyes open to see the surface and come up, taking large gulps.

Tidus has recovered long before me and we look up to see Wakka make a graceful dive into the water and come back up quicker than an Olympic swimmer. I'm jealous of these athletes.

"What the big idea?" Tidus wants to know but he doesn't get his answer. Wakka swims off down river and, with no questions asked, Tidus follows.

I purse my lips and sigh. I'm not a swimmer but I'll try my damn best to keep up with them. I think they realize this when they stop and wait for me. They look amused at my obvious lack of real swimming skills and I glare at them.

"Why didn't you tell me you can't swim?" Wakka asks, while Tidus laughs. "I would have sent you along with Luzzu."

I have idea who Luzzu is but I don't say that. I splash water in Wakka's face instead and he retracts with a laugh. "You didn't give me a chance jerk."

Wakka and Tidus laugh again and start swimming off. "See if you can keep up!" Wakka shouts.

I grumble a bit but swim in their direction anyway. Ignoring the boots, the skirt, and the…well, everything I'm wearing—it's kind of easy. Swimming for your life is one thing—swimming to keep up with two athletes is another.

We swim for a bit. Every once in a while, a fish fiend came out to meet us but Tidus with his sword (who had it strapped to his back on the beach) and Wakka with his weird ball took them all out pretty quickly. Even though I'm tired, I manage to keep up with them—though I'm also lagging behind.

A while into the swim, Wakka turns in my direction and motions for me to keep quiet. With a raised eyebrow, I nod, wondering what he's up to. He dives into the water and comes back a second later and grabs hold of Tidus from behind.

Tidus thrashes around. "Lemme go!" I use it as a chance to catch up to them.

"Got a favor to ask ya," Wakka says, still holding on.

I swim up to them so I'm in front of them, facing them. I see Tidus roll his eyes. "You want me on your team, right?"

Wakka lets go of Tidus and, not expecting it, he goes down like a brick but he quickly recovers and comes back up, shaking his head and getting water in my eyes. I'm not amused.

"A major Blitz tournament is coming up," Wakka says while Tidus floats on his back. "All the teams in Spira'll be there. It's so huge—I'm sure someone there'll recognize you! Then…you can go back your old team, right? It'll be fun, hey—come on what'd ya say?"

I'm hit with the sudden realization that of course, I can do my best in this world but let's face it—I don't know anyone besides Tidus and even still, I don't know him. And…if it turns out that Tidus and I are infected by Sin's toxin and don't know anything, then Tidus might have a life to go back to. Don't know about me though…

"Sure thing…" Tidus says, stirring me from my thoughts. At his dejected voice, I look over at him but he's swimming away.

Wakka doesn't seem to notice though. "Oh—our team's gonna rock, eh?"

And then, turning in the water to face Wakka, I ask something I've been dying to know.

"What exactly is Blitzball?"

Wakka looks at me, not sure whether or not I'm serious. He looks like he wants to laugh and I roll my eyes. "You guys have been talking about it none stop," I say, "and I have no idea what it is." Wakka laughs and ruffles my hair. I glare at him and bring my hands up to my matted hair.

"Man, you must be really messed up by Sin's toxin to not know Blitzball anymore."

I roll my eyes yet again. "Yea, thanks, but what is it?"

Wakka laughs again. "Don't worry—you'll see at the tournament." Leaving that ambiguous remark with me, he swims off after Tidus and I huff out some air and go after them.

It isn't long after that that we reached land again. From what I can tell, where ever we are—I think it's an island—has a lot of mountains and pretty much everything. The air is still salty from the ocean and warm too. The only think I can hear still are birds and, when we reach yet another cliff, this one the largest we've seen so far, I can see lush forest areas below it. That and a small village.

"I was born and raised here," Wakka explains, pointing to it. It's got small huts with colorful cloth hanging from them. Trees shade some areas and there's a large concrete building at the head of it all. It looks peaceful, even from here.

"I started Blitz when I was five," Wakka continues. I listen, wanting to know more about the world I'm in. "I joined the Aurochs at thirteen—ten years ago. And…we never won a game." I try not to snort at this and keep it in, letting Wakka continue. "After last year's tournament, I quit—time seemed right."

Wakka then starts walking down the decline, towards the village. Tidus and I follow him, me trying to ignore the squelching from my boots. "So, after quitting, I got this new job, ya? But every time, my mind wandered—thought about the game…" I can tell from the way he spoke, he had some regrets.

Tidus seems to know too and we stop walking for a moment "Ten years without a single win will do that," he says sagely, crossing his arms.

Wakka nods and turns his head towards us a little. "My first match last year was my big chance…but something else was on my mind—I couldn't focus."

Tidus unfolds his arms and looks at him. "Nice excuse."

I elbow him in the ribs. "Shut up Tidus. Something more important must have been happening…" I still remember when mom disappeared. I may have been only five but…I remember not wanting to do anything at all. Each year, when the anniversary of it comes around, I shut down. In fact it happened again, three months ago…

Wakka nods at me appreciatively and Tidus puts a hand on his hip. "So," he says. "You wanna win the next tournament, go out with a bang" Wakka then nods at him.

Tidus then turns around and crosses his arms. "So. What's our goal?"

Wakka looks down at the ground and scratches his head. "I don't care how we do—long as we do our best. We give it our all, I can walk away happy."

"Oh please," I say, turning towards him and flicking the still dripping water from my skirt at him. "If you sound that dejected, you won't get anything." I raise an arm up high and point a finger to the sky. "Have some motivation! Go out there to win!" I feel like an anime character…

It's the corniest thing I've ever said but Tidus turns around with a huge smile on his face.

"Yea!" He says. "Victory!" He pumps his hand in the hand and I turn and give him a high five.

Wakka stands there dumbfounded. It's as if the greatest revolutionary idea as come around and he has no idea what to do. "Victory? You serious?"

I snort and throw an arm around Wakka's shoulders and poke him in the stomach. "Don't act so surprised that we want you to win—yes we're serious."

Wakka laughs and pushes me away gently. We all share smiles and for once, I can feel myself being happy in this world. Maybe, if I'm here long enough, I'll start the Besaid Auroch Cheerleading Squad. Or maybe not…I can't even do a split…

A few seconds after that, we continue walking to the village. As we approach, I can see it's colorful and the people here are actually happy. Before we can continue any further though, two men run up to us. One's wearing long blue pants and brown leather armor strapped to his shoulders and torso. Like Wakka, he has red hair although it's more of a flame color. The other has white shorts and similar armor.

"Ah—the ones from the sea." The red haired man says.

"Be on guard, there are fiends on the road today." The other one says.

"After surviving your run-in with Sin, it would be a shame if something were to happen now," The red haired man says again, putting his hand on his chin.

Their eyes sweep over us and I can see that they actually do care. I nod at them and with another look; they turn run towards the village.

"Who are they?" Tidus asks, beating me to it.

"Luzzu and Gatta, Crusaders."

Luzzu…Luzzu…why does that sound familiar…oh!

"Luzzu was that guy you were talking about earlier right?" I ask Wakka, turning to him. Wakka nods, glad I remember something.

Tidus though…well, he's still confused. "Crusewhater?"

I roll my eyes. "Come on Tidus, even I know what that is." At that, both Tidus and Wakka turn to me surprised. I'm suddenly a little nervous at having both of them look at me, expecting an answer but I give one anyway. "Crusaders fight for the church. They go on expeditions to fight for them and the Holy Land…whatever that is…"

Wakka nods, probably satisfied with the answer. I only know it because of world history in the fall semester earlier this year. It's the one word—besides Fiends and Sin I guess—that I've been able to recognize here.

Wakka turns to Tidus and scratches his head. "Don't worry about, I'll help you out—both of you."

Tidus perks up and puts on a smug look on his face. "Cool—and come tournament time, I'll make sure we take the cup."

Wakka lets out a happy approval and starts walking toward the village again. "About the Crusaders—you can ask yourself. They got a lodge back in the village."

When we finally get to the village (with no attacks from fiends), Wakka puts his arms around Tidus and I. "Besaid Village," he proudly proclaims.

"Ugh," Tidus says, putting his hands on his stomach. "They got any food there?"

"Gee Tidus, you sure love your food," I tease, poking him in the side. He winces but doesn't say anything.

"We'll get ya something over there later. Take a look around first," Wakka says, pointing to a larger hut on the right. He pauses and looks around. "Let's see…the Crusader's Lodge is over yonder, Luzzu and Gatta are usually there." He says pointing to the largest of the huts.

I like that the village is small enough to be seen in one glance. It looks peaceful—doubly so with the tall palm trees swaying in the breeze. It's almost like a different world than the place we ended up at with Rikku. Which…is an odd thing to say…

Wakka starts walking to the large hut he pointed out earlier—probably his hut—but he slows his pace and then turns back to Tidus and I. "Over here," he whispers and walks back to the entrance.

Tidus and I share a look before following him. "What's up?" Tidus asks.

"You do remember the prayer right?"

I blinked, confused. I wanted to say that no, I don't know the prayer—I haven't even been to church since I was five but I don't. I don't think it's the right prayer and I realize, judging by what he told us earlier, that Wakka is a religious man.

When neither Tidus nor I said anything, Wakka lowers his voice just a bit. "You guys…must have forgotten…" I think he hates the whole 'Sin's toxin' thing as much as we do. "I'll show you." He steps back and does the same motion with his arms and hands that he did on the beach. "Go ahead, you try."

Tidus and I look at each other again before I move over a step or two to give us space. We repeat Wakka's movements and it's a bit awkward and I almost think it's a joke because it's the weirdest thing I've ever done. Judging by the look on Wakka's face though, it's as serious as can be and I wonder if I even did it right.

Wakka nods approvingly. "Hey, not bad." He walks around us and back into the village—but not before patting us on our shoulders. "Now go present yourself to the temple summoner."

I blink, recognizing that word but it's gone in a second. Tidus still has his hands cupped and he's staring at them with a look of deep concentration.

"Hey," I poke him and he jumps about three feet and I laugh. "What's up?"

He looks back towards the village—probably at Wakka before scratching his head. "That's the sign of victory in Zanarkand."

"Oh…" I say, unsure. I wonder if I'm supposed to pretend I'm from Zanarkand too but I decide against it. I know nothing about Zanarkand.

"Never mind," Tidus says, breaking my thoughts. "Let's go in the village—I'm starving."

I roll my eyes but follow him in. It's weird being in the village. I know from my world it's supposed to be a game but seeing with my own eyes, seeing the people going about their business and children running around, it's hard to think that. It's not a game and I know that if I ever get back to my world, it'll never be a game.

"I guess the temple's over there," Tidus says breaking the silence again. I look over at him and see he's pointing at the large concrete structure in the back of the village. He starts walking over to it, listening to Wakka's instructions and I follow him.

The temple has a cool air about it. The gray concrete is solid and secure and inside it's dark with a warm glow of light coming through the entrance. There are flames burning at the entrance with colorful banners that have same symbol on them. Inside the temple, it's large and circular. The walls and floor are painting with colorful designs and there were statues surrounding the walls. I guess they're of important people. Kneeling on the floor in front of some are people praying, doing the prayer that Wakka taught Tidus and I.

I blink at the sight. I've never been a religious person but I keep to myself. I remember back in middle school, whenever everyone started becoming aware of their own thoughts and beliefs, it was amazing and even rebellious to say you're not religious. Back then it felt like a step away from our parents. But I've never seen religion like this. There's fainting singing in the back, like a choir from the heavens and its solemn and respectful here.

I start walking to a very large statue to the right of the long staircase in the middle of the temple. Tidus follows me and as we come up to it, I see it's of a man. He's holding a large staff and has a strange headdress and robes on. Even in the stone, I can see a look of absolute determination in his eyes. I can't take my eyes away.

"Ten years have passed since Lord Braska became High Summoner," a voice behind us says. We turn to see who it is and we see an older man with orange and green robes. "Finally, we receive our statue."

He seems proud of it and I don't know what to say. I don't want to say anything stupid but of course, Tidus does.

"What's a High Summoner?"

I groan and throughout the temple, the people praying stop and gasp as they hear us. They stop what they're doing and turn to look at us. Even the man in the robes—a priest I've gathered—has taken a few steps back.

Tidus is fumbling for words, obvious to the fact that he said something wrong but I step forward. "Sorry, we saw Sin."

That seemed like the right thing to say. There are murmurs of sympathy and the priest stumbles back a few steps and does the prayer for us. He mumbles something and I think I hear the words 'praise' and 'Yevon'. Yevon is the same thing Rikku said…

"Summoners are practitioners of a sacred art," the priest says when he's done, "sworn to protect the people of Yevon. Only a chosen few may become Summoners who call forth great entities of power—the Aeons. The Aeons hear our prayers and come down to us—they are the blessing of Yevon." He and everyone around us do the prayer again.

Besides the singing, it's silent. Everyone goes back to praying and, now that the priest has done his solemn duty to help the lost, he also goes back to praying and helping others. Tidus and I stand there awkwardly. This isn't really a place I want to be in to be frank.

"Um…fun stuff…" I say and Tidus nods. "Wanna go see if Wakka's done?" Tidus nods again and we make our way out of the temple, careful to keep quiet and not say anything to upset everyone again.

We exit the temple and I breathe in the cool air. I didn't realize that the temple was so musty. We're near the Crusader's Lodge when Tidus stops and looks at it.

"Wanna go in?" he asks.

I look at it and shake my head. "No I'm good. You can though; I'll head over to Wakka's and see if I can help." Tidus nods and walks into the Lodge while I make my way to Wakka's hut.

It was small inside, just like I expected. Wakka is bent over a small fire with a large pot over it. It was odd to see a big athlete like him cook but I guess he has to eat somehow. The hut is filled with various things from pots and pans to personal items. To my right is a large bed that actually looks pretty comfortable. Its easy living and I'm a little jealous.

"Hey," I say, stepping in fully. The smell of whatever he's cooking hits me and my stomach lets out a small sound and I smile sheepishly when he laughs at me.

"Just take a seat on the bed, it'll be done soon."

I do as he says and he continues cooking. Without looking up he says, "you look familiar, ya?"

"Um…what?"

Wakka continues stirring and when he continues it's nonchalant. "You look like someone who came to the village ten years ago. She didn't stay though—she was travelling with Lord Braska."

"She?" The information is strange and vague.

"Yea…actually, she was about the age of Lord Braska I guess, one of his guardians."

"Lord Braska was a Summoner right?"

Wakka nods and I stare at my dagger. Mom was here. I don't say anything; don't say why I look familiar. I know why. She was here and she was traveling with some Summoner. I don't know what Summoners do but…I don't care. Because at one point, she had been here.

"Eh, it could just be a coincidence, I don't know."

"Yea," I say, still staring at my dagger. "Must be."

Just then, Tidus comes in through the entrance. The moment of information between Wakka and I is lost. Tidus spots the food Wakka is cooking and again, Wakka laughs. "Sorry man, not ready yet. Take a nap! You look bushed."

Tidus does look bushed. I get off the bed and offer it to him. He lies down gratefully and I take a seat on the floor and lean against the wall. I'm not tired but I close my eyes anyway and listen to the sounds of Wakka cooking. Soon I hear Tidus's light snoring and I roll my eyes inwardly.

"You can at least see how they're doing."

I jerk awake and crack an eye open. Towering above me, next to me, is the priest from the temple. He looks more serious than before and I wonder what's up.

Wakka turns around. "You can't interfere, it's a rule!" He snaps.

"But…it's been nearly a day…" Wakka and the priest sigh and walk out of the hut.

I open my other eye and sigh as well. I remember my father yelling that to someone when my mom left. I wasn't panicked, I knew she'd come back but dad was getting weird about it; I don't know why though. He couldn't do anything though. And she didn't come back.

I hear a groan then and see Tidus sit up. He still looks sleepy as he stands up and stretches. "Where's Wakka?"

I shrug. "I don't know, he left with that priest."

"Let's go find him."

I don't say no; he's already halfway out of the hut. Instead I stand up and follow him. We figure that since Wakka left with the priest we might as well like, go to the temple. So we do. The temple is just the way we left it but with the exception of Wakka and the priest standing before the stairs talking in hushed voices. They look serious, concerned. Tidus and I walk up to them.

"Something wrong?" Tidus asks

The priest walks away, mumbling about praying again. Wakka turns to us, still serious. "The Summoner hasn't returned from her trial," he says solemnly. Tidus is confused and so am I. "Well apprentice Summoner really." He looks up at the large stone doorway at the top of the stairs. "There's a room up there called at the Cloister of Trials, beyond is where the apprentice Summoner prays. If the prayer is heard, the apprentice becomes a fully fledged Summoner."

"So someone is up there and they haven't come out, right," Tidus summarizes. I look to Wakka for confirmation. He nods and I wonder what's going on exactly.

"A day's already gone by," Wakka continues.

"Is it…dangerous in there?"

Wakka looks down. "Sometimes, yes."

"Why don't you go help?" I ask. Obviously, Wakka is part of this somehow, I can tell.

"There's already Guardians in there and besides—it's forbidden." I blink. Guardians? Wakka mentioned that word before...but…

"What do you mean it's forbidden? What if something happens to the Summoner? You _did_ say it was dangerous," I say pointedly.

At this, Tidus perks up and runs up the stairs. "If you aren't going to help, then I will."

Wakka and I stare at him in shock. Seriously Tidus? The priest comes running over, eyes wide. "The precepts must be obeyed!"

"Like I care!" And with that, Tidus is gone.

Everyone around us gasps as they see and hear everything that happens. I feel everyone's eyes on me, even Wakka's and the priest's. They're looking at me accusingly and I shrink away, towards the stairs.

"Uh…I'll just go get him…" And like Tidus, I'm running up the stairs. There are more gasps but the stone doors close behind me before anyone can follow. I see Tidus ahead of me and I sigh.

"Come on, we're not supposed to be here." I turn towards the doors as Tidus turns to me, hearing what I said. I push the doors but they don't budge. I push again and get the same result. "Oh my God, are you serious?" I bang against the doors but they don't do anything.

I let out a frustrated huff and turn my back to the doors and lean against me. Tidus is trying to hold back a smile and I glare at him.

"Let's find the Summoner." He's still determined to do this.

I sigh again. "Fine, whatever." For once it's my big mouth that got us in trouble, awesome…

* * *

A/N: Mmm, sorry I disappeared for a bit. Also sorry if this chapter's a bit useless. I was going to have more but when it got around to being 13 pages in Word, I figured this would be a good place to stop for now.

Hey! Fun fact: In regular manuscript form (1 inch margins, double space, Times New Roman font, paragraph indents, ect) this chapter is 23 pages long. The whole thing together is 66 pages long and with around 20k words. Not sure how much you guys care about that stuff, but this thing is well on its way to being novel length.

Anyway. Since this chapter is shorter than I originally planned, I'll say that this chapter is here to introduce Wakka and some other stuff in Spira. I also realized that I'm using a lot of the original dialogue from the game and not really a lot of Mandy's input. I want to change that, to make Mandy seem more of a part of that but I think it's important to keep to the game for now—just for now. It's mostly to get explanations out of the way and to get the story going but don't worry, it'll stray away from regular game dialogue eventually.

Oh (I know, I'm talking forever). I updated my profile page to explain a bit on what made me start writing this thing and what my expectations for Mandy are. Go read it!

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. And thanks for everyone who read/reviewed/favorited/whatevered the story. Please review and tell me what you think! I'll write/upload the next chapter as fast and as soon as I can. School starts for me tomorrow so it'll start to be hectic but I think I'll be fine. Now go tell me what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

"So…" I say, dragging to word out. "What are we supposed to do?"

The room we're in smells musty. It's kind of cold and made of stone. Old stone too by the looks of it. Tidus walks over to the far wall, the one opposite of me and looks at it. It starts glowing strangely and arrows point in the four basic directions. Confused, Tidus looks back at me but I shrug. He brings up a tentative hand up and touches the glyph and it glows again. On the wall next to me, another glyph just like it appears and I walk over and touch it too. An arrow glows and points upwards and there's a rumbling as the wall moves and opens. Before us is a short stair case leading down to a longer hallway. Tidus and I stare at it for a second before shrugging and walking down the stairs.

"Ugh," I say covering my nose as a horrible stench reaches my nose. It's the musty smell, worse than ever because now it smells like mildew. "You know, for an important temple and all, they don't really air out their 'scared' chambers."

"They also don't take care of their Summoners," Tidus responds quietly while inspecting the wall in front of us. I'm starting to realize that about Tidus: if he feels something important needs saving or doing, then by God he will do it. I roll my eyes—stubborn people are impossible sometimes. Like now.

I turn my attention back to Tidus though and study the wall too. Actually, staring would be more accurate. The glyph from before is back and below it is a nook that looks like it can hold something. Weird symbols are carved around the stone, symbols that I've seen before in the main temple. They disappear though and in the small nook is a green glowing sphere.

"Oh! Magic, here—who would have thought?" I say sarcastically as Tidus picks it up and examines it. "What is it?"

"Um…no idea," he says and looks around the room. There's another staircase and we both walk down it and see a door with a notch the same size as the sphere Tidus is holding. "That's convenient," he says.

I roll my eyes and he inserts the sphere and the door creaks open loudly. The temple is moldy _and_ it needs an oil job. The old castles in Europe are in better shape than this…

Tidus goes off and looks around and I take the sphere from the door thinking we'll need it. Trial puzzle game things like this are usually annoying like that. "Hey!" I hear Tidus ahead. "I think we need a sphere!" Yup.

I walk over and give Tidus the sphere. He mumbles a thanks and inserts it into the hole in the wall. While he deals with that, I go further down the hall and look around. I turn a corner and see a pedestal engraved into the wall and another wall with glowing white symbols. I think about the green glyph from before and touch them. They give a quick glow and the wall opens up to a small room with glowing carvings all around. In the back wall is a white sphere. I walk over to it and take it. The glowing in the wall disappears.

"Mandy!" I hear Tidus behind me again and I turn back and see him standing there with a confused look. "Uh…I'm not really sure what to do."

He's holding another sphere, a purple one. I hold up my white sphere. "Let's trade," I say.

"Why? This one feels important."

"A sphere can't _feel_ important."

"Well this one does."

I point to my sphere. "Then what is this?"

Tidus shrugs. "Obviously not important."

I give a huff and grab his hand and pull him forward. "Fine, whatever. Let's just get through this thing."

When we get to the pedestal, Tidus puts his sphere into the slot that's there. Nothing happens. I turn to him triumphantly. "Oh, who's important now?"

Tidus glares at me and takes his sphere back. The slot now free, I put my sphere in. The wall gives a white flash and disappears. White symbols float around me and I have to admit it's kind of pretty.

_BOOM_!

I whip around and see Tidus standing in the small room where I got my sphere and looking surprised. Behind him, a band of purple glows in the wall and I know he put his sphere in the wall. "What the hell was that?"

Tidus's eyes are wide and he doesn't say anything and darts over to where the explosion sounded with me right behind him. He stops suddenly and I collide into him. "Ow, jeez," I say while leaning over him. I can't help it; I start laughing and poke him the side making him flinch. "Oh man, you totally blew up the temple." And indeed he had. The wall furthest from us had a huge gapping hole with smoke still coming from it.

"It was an accident," he mumbles and walks over and inspects it. "Hey, there's a chest in here."

"Oh, see what's in it." I say. "You can take their precious temple artifacts, it'll be great."

Tidus laughs and opens the chest up. Sure enough there's a long rod with colorful decorations that look like they belong to the temple. Tidus turns it over and examines it. "What is it?" He looks over at me and but I shrug. With not much else to do, Tidus shoulders it and we walk back to the new hallway.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Tidus asks.

"I don't know—your important sphere didn't really do anything _important_ so…" I tease, leaning against the pedestal. I hear a groan under me and I'm jolted forward as the pedestal _moves_ forward and moves me with it. "What the heck?"

Tidus laughs and moves me out of the way and begins pushing the pedestal towards the middle of the room. "It doesn't like you, you're not important enough."

"Oh shut up," I say as he puts the pedestal in the middle of the room. Nothing happens and I'm about to tell him so when the room glows white again and the pedestal sinks into the floor. There's a slight engrave in the floor from what I can see. "I think it's an elevator or something."

Tidus nods and begins to walk over to it. I start to follow but we both turn as hear a voice behind us. "Hey! What's gotten in you guys?"

We turn and see Wakka. He's not looking all that happy which is understandable I guess. "It's OK though," Wakka continutes. "Only Summoners, apprentice Summoners, and their Guardians can enter here. It's a tradition—very important."

"Important, huh?" I stare right at Tidus. He ignores me.

"What are you then?" Tidus asks, crossing his arms.

"Me? I'm a Guardian." Wakka points to himself proudly and I roll my eyes a bit. Tidus looks confused so Wakka explains more. "Summoners go on a pilgrimage to every temple in Spira—the Guardians protect them."

The elevator moves suddenly, jerking us around before falling into a smooth descent. There's a cool breeze that whips around my skirt and I awkwardly try to keep it from flying up. No one seems to notice though. Something distracts me though from really caring too much. The singing I heard from the main temple is louder; a monophonic operatic voice gracing our ears with what I guess was a sacred song or something from the church. It's beautiful but I can't make out from where it's coming.

"There are already two Guardians down here," Waka says when the elevators comes to a sudden stop. "one of thems got a short fuse and who knows what the other one's thinking…well, we've already come this far so…" Wakka starts walking down a long hallway and we follow him.

The air is dryer here, I guess from the torches that are burning along the walls. Our footsteps echo through the corridor. There are two figures at the end of the corridor, standing in a large circular room that looks very much like the main temple. The two figures come into view the closer we get and they look over as they hear our footsteps. One of them is a woman who looks like every goth girl's dream. She has long black hair tied up in a bun with braids, hair sticks, and beads. Her dress seems impossible—all belts and leather. And a corset. She's beautiful though, I'll give her that. The other person…well…he—it's definitely a he—is more of a giant cat. Yes, a giant cat—that's really the only way of describing him. He doesn't look like someone I really want to cross.

"What are you doing here?" The woman asks. She doesn't sound happy and in fact, I think she's also glaring at us. "Didn't think we'd be able to handle it?"

I almost say something but really, I have nothing to say at this point. Wakka tries though. "No…it's just…uh…"

The woman gets up and starts walking towards us. Wakka nudges Tidus. "See? I told you she gets mad easy."

I give Wakka a 'are you stupid look' just as Tidus perks up. "I-is the Summoner alright?"

The woman looks over at Tidus and I with a look of surprise. I guess she hadn't seen us before. I smile slightly, trying to ease the situation but she's not paying attention to me. She's looking straight at Tidus in shock. "Who…are you?"

Tidus opens his mouth, about to say something but there's a creaking sound and the woman turns away, looking up at the large stair case that's before us. The door at the top opens and out staggers a girl, not much older than Tidus. She's lovely with a pleated purple skirt with pink flowers embroidered on it. She also has long flowing sleeves like a Japanese kimono and a yellow embroidered belt that looks like an obi. She's lovely but she's also hanging onto the wall for dear life.

She rests there for a few seconds before stepping forward, towards the stairs. She's very unsteady and I think she's going—

The giant cat comes running up the stairs as the girl begins to fall forward. We all gasp and step forward, prepared to help but the cat catches her before she can fall too far. We all breathe a sigh of relief as she straightens her shoulder length brown hair and clothes. She looks down at us and I notice something strange about her but I can't quite place it.

The girl looks tired but excited—very excited. "I've done it," she says smiling. "I have become a Summoner."

The woman rushes over to her and gushes. "Well done Yuna, I'm so proud of you."

Wakka lets out a sigh although I can't tell what kind it is. He looks happy though. "Come on," he says, "let's get out of here."

"Don't you wanna congratulate her?" Tidus asks. I think he wants to hang around Yuna but not to congratulate her. I saw the way his eyes traveled over her and I want to tease him over it but Wakka looks serious so we don't say anything and follow him to the elevator. No one seems to notice.

When we come back to the main part of the temple, I feel everyone's eyes on me. I suddenly have the great sensation that I know what it's like to live in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business. It wasn't a good feeling, those glares kind of hurt even from up the stairs and I think I've become best friends with Hester Prynne.

"You there, come down!" The priest is glaring sternly at Tidus and I and we follow directions and descend the stairs, Wakka following close behind. Wakka stops though and whispers something to the priest who gasps and does the prayer. Everyone suddenly perks up and rushes forward, all expecting good news.

Tidus and I hang around awkwardly as everyone pushes us out of the way. It's annoying and I want to push them right back but I'm pretty sure that would get me into more trouble. Soon though, the door at the top of the stairs grumbles open and Yuna and her Guardians step out. The Guardians come down the stairs and join Wakka and the priest while Yuna stays at the top, giving the prayer. Everyone stands around in awe, like they can't believe a Summoner is standing before them.

"Hey," Tidus whispers next to me and I lean over to hear him. "I thought Summoners were all geezers…"

I snort and some people turn and glare at me to hush me up. "I guess not…" Everyone around us does the prayer, everyone except Tidus and me.

After that moment of silent reverence, everyone bustles out of the temple—even Yuna and her Guardians. Tidus and I look at each other and follow, heading out of the temple and into the bright light. It's kind of a shock at first because the temple had no windows at all and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust.

"Hey! Over here!" We hear Wakka call out to us and we go towards him and the crowd. Wakka grabs us in a head lock and I yelp and try and get him off but he's too strong. He pulls us to into the center of the crowd and they part with grumbles of unhappiness and glares. "Wait til you see this!"

"I can't see anything!" I yell at him and he lets Tidus and I go. I kick Wakka lightly in the leg before straightening my clothes.

Wakka ignores my kick and calls out to Yuna. "Ready!"

She turns back to him and nods. "OK." She's holding a blue staff with a golden decoration that looks like a lotus flower on top. She steps forward and brings her arms and staff up and then back down in front of her. Before I can wonder what's happening, a swirl of beautiful lights comes from the ground and she steps sideways, bringing her staff behind her. Lights shoot up into the sky and I look up in time to see them hit some clouds and soon there's an eruption and a huge flying creature comes shooting down towards us.

Instinct catches hold of me and I grab my dagger, thinking it's one of the fiends from before but it lands peacefully in front of Yuna and she reaches over and pets it. Everyone lets out gasps and a few even clap. Yuna looks at the creature proudly and Wakka and the woman rush over and fawn over Yuna.

"What…is that…?" Tidus asks, awed and bewildered.

I cock my head to the side and cross my arms. "You know…I have no idea. I guess…she summoned it?"

"I've never seen anything like it…" Tidus is completely wowed and I don't blame him.

* * *

Later that night, the village sets up a bond fire. Night life in the village was beautiful actually. The woman of the village cooked up a huge feast in honor of Yuna becoming a Summoner and, of course, everyone was invited. Even Tidus and I although some what reluctantly.

After Yuna summoned her creature—Aeon, I remember them being called—she dismissed it and everyone gushed over her a bit longer before going back to their business although you could tell that they had a new bounce to them. It was like something came down and gave them a million dollars—Gill. It was strange seeing that kind of transformation.

Meanwhile, Yuna and the woman—I later found out her name was Lulu—went into a hut nearby, I guess to rest. Yuna came out looking a lot more refreshed and soon the bond fire started and everyone settled into their places, chattering away the night.

I didn't really sit with anyone. Everyone was still ostracizing Tidus and me and I was more than happy to let them. It wasn't like I had to stay there really. So I sat to the side, eating my food peacefully while Tidus talked to the blitzball team. He seemed to pump them up a bit which was nice to see. Now though, I'm looking up at the sky and looking at the stars. I've never seen so many before and they're beautiful. I almost do want to stay here but I know that I can't. My chances of fitting in here were ruined before they really started. Whatever.

"You heathen!"

I look up and not too far away, I see Tidus standing near Yuna and a group of older villagers.

"Stay away from the Summoner!" A woman shouts. My lips tighten.

"You're a bad man!" I shake my head. Even the little kids are getting into it.

Yuna stands up and the old man next to her looks at her worried. "Lady Yuna, be careful."

In my corner, I snort. Tidus wouldn't hurt a fly. Well…unless that fly was a fiend trying to kill us…

"No…it was really my fault to begin with," a soft voice says and I look up and see Yuna has walked over to Tidus. "I'm Yuna," she says in a cheerful voice. "Thank you so much for your help earlier."

Tidus look surprised and I want to laugh. Tidus is awkward with the girls, who would have thought. "Uh…no, I'm sorry…wasn't I not supposed to…wasn't it…" he pauses and scratches his head awkwardly. "Guess I kind of over reacted…"

"Oh…no…I was over confident." In that moment, Yuna slumped forward a bit and didn't look confident at all.

There was a pause and I wanted so badly to crack up laughing. They were so awkward, it was kind of cute.

"Hey!" Tidus says loudly. "I saw your Aeon thing—that was amazing!"

Yuna perks up and her smile is huge. "Really?"

"Yea!"

"Do you think I can become High Summoner?"

Tidus nods, ready to agree to anything with her and Yuna's smile some how becomes even bigger. They stare at each other for a second and I hope something happens but they're interrupted by the little kid from earlier.

"Lady Yuna, come play with me!"

Yuna bends down to eye level with the kid and nods. The kid runs off excited and Yuna stands up straight again. "So…tomorrow then." She sounds a lot more confident, like she suggested before.

Tidus is confused. "Tomorrow?"

"We're leaving on the same boat, aren't we? We can…talk more."

Tidus nods excitedly and Yuna nods at him with a smile and walks off to the waiting kid. She stops though and turns back. "You can tell me all about Zanarkand."

When she's gone, I get up from my spot and walk over to Tidus. "Smooth," I say.

Wakka also walks up and nudges Tidus. "She's cute, ya?" Tidus nods but Wakka's face turns serious. "Don't get no ideas now."

Tidus turns to Wakka and smiles. "No promises there, pal."

"Besides," I say playfully, "she seemed to come on to him."

Wakka shakes his head, still serious. "That wouldn't happen." I raise my eyebrow at him questionably but he shakes his head again. "If you two get tired, let me know—I got some beds made for you."

"Actually…" I say, "I'm pretty tired now."

And I was. The day's activities were getting to me and I could feel the pull from my eye lids. My body was ready for a good night's sleep in an actual bed, not a cold decrepit building or the sand. Wakka nods and takes me over to the Crusader's lodge shows me my bed. It looks comfortable enough and I wish I had some other clothes to change into but I'm not gonna complain. Instead I slump into bed and bury my head into a pillow and I'm out like a light.

* * *

"I hate you!"

"Argh! What the hell Tidus?"

I'm sitting straight up in bed, glaring at Tidus through the dim light. I was in a perfect deep sleep when Tidus screamed, waking me up. I open my mouth to yell at him more but a voice stops me.

"He's dead, OK—dead."

I recognize the voice as Lulu's. Tidus and I share a confused look before getting out of our beds and creeping towards the front of the lodge where Tidus pushes the flap away a few inches. Lulu and Wakka are standing before each other and the bond fire is still lit. Lulu does not look happy but Wakka doesn't either. In fact, Wakka's looking absolutely anguished.

"He does look a lot like Chappu," Lulu says, probably in response to something Wakka had said. "I was surprised too, the first time I saw him. But no matter what he looks like, he isn't Chappu! You shouldn't have brought them in the first place!"

Somehow I know she's talking about Tidus and me. Awesome, now not even Wakka's friend doesn't like us.

"Yea but…they needed our help." Wakka trails off. I wanted to give him a hug. Thank you Wakka for defending us.

"Excuses again?" Wakka hangs his head. "That's it, no more—enough Wakka!" Lulu storms off leaving Wakka still standing there.

I blink. It's like Wakka senses us standing there behind the flap and he turns and starts walking over to us. Tidus lets go of the flap and steps away, letting Wakka in.

"Scary," is all Tidus says.

"More like bitchy…" I mumble but they don't say anything.

"So…who's Chappu?" Tidus asks and I look over at Wakka, wondering the same thing.

Wakka doesn't say anything for a moment and I sigh, getting a feeling of knowing. "Chappu," he says, "my little brudda." Wakka pauses and looks back at Tidus. "He looked a lot like you."

And there it is. Looked. 'He's dead'. Lulu said it before but now with Wakka, it becomes clear. "Wakka, I'm sorry," I say softly. Wakka nods and walks over to the beds. Tidus and I sit down opposite of him.

"He was with the Crusaders when they…fought Sin last year. He didn't make it." Wakka says. "I first heard on the day of the tournament."

"Oh," I say, remembering what he said earlier that day. Tidus also remembers.

"I became a Guardian to fight Sin, ya?" Wakka says, sitting up a bit.

"Revenge then?" Tidus says.

"That was the idea. I'm more worried about a stupid game now than avenging my brudda." Wakka perks up a bit. "Well, after the tournament, I'll be a Guardian full time. I know it looks like I'm kind of using you…but I'm not."

Tidus holds up a hand. "Don't worry. I mean—I owe you a lot."

"So do I," I say. "I'll find a way to pay you back for it." Wakka shakes his head, as if saying I don't need to but I stand up and hold my hand to him. "No really…thanks Wakka."

Wakka chuckles then and scratches his head in a very Tidus kind of way. "Stop—you're embarrassing me." He shakes my hand though and stands up as well. "I should probably let you guys get back to bed."

I nod my head vigorously. "Yes, please. This guy here," I nudge Tidus playfully, "woke up me, the jerk."

"Hey! It's not my fault."

"Oh yes it is." I glare at him and he rolls his eyes and lies back down on his bed.

Wakka chuckles too and heads for the front of the lodge as I flop back into my bed. "Well, sleep tight you guys!"

"Mmm," I mumble, burying my head in the pillow again. A few minutes later, I dream of my mother.

* * *

"Wakey, wakey!"

I jerk awake to Tidus's voice yelling in my ear. My arm flies out and whack him. "Oowww, what was that for?"

"Hmph. You deserved it." I say and sit up. Tidus rubs his cheek while I stretch leisurely. "So…when are we leaving?"

"You're coming with us?"

Tidus seems surprised and I roll my eyes. "Yea, why wouldn't I? I have nothing else to do."

Tidus grabs my hands and pulls me out of bed. "Awesome! Alright! We're leaving now."

"Too early!" I yell, taking my hands back. "And what do you mean we're leaving now?"

"Well every one's standing outside. We're just waiting for Yuna."

"Ugh," I say, rubbing my eyes. I straighten my clothes and run my hand through my hair. Miraculously, it's still clean although I can feel it curling somewhat. Oh well, my uber special straightening shampoo was bound to wear out. I grabbed my dagger and pouches from the nightstand next to me and strap them to my waist band. "Alright, let's go."

Wakka and Lulu are waiting outside near the same spot they were last night during their argument. Lulu looks calmed down and even refreshed which is a good sign. Wakka is holding a large blue sparkling sword.

"Hey sleepy head," he calls out to me and I roll my eyes. He turns to Tidus then. "Something I wanna give ya." He holds out the sword to him.

Beside him, I see Lulu become tense but Tidus doesn't notice and takes the sword, holding it out to watch it shimmer. He gave it a practice swing before Lulu speaks out. "That's the sword you gave to Chappu."

Wakka sighs. "Yea well, he never used it…where's Yuna?"

"Hey, we're taking the same boat as Yuna right, why do we have to wait here?"

"Yuna came to this village ten years ago when the last Calm started," Wakka explains. Tidus asks what the Calm is but Wakka doesn't answer. "Since then, Yuna's been like a little sister to us. But she had the talent—she became an apprentice. Now, today, she leaves as a Summoner."

"This is our journey," Lulu pipes up, crossing her arms. "We should leave together."

We hear a noise over by a temple, like something falling over and we all look over and see Yuna, turning up a chest of some sort. "You really don't need all that luggage," Lulu calls out to her.

"Um," Yuna says looking down at her box. "They're really not my things. They're gifts, for the temples we're to visit."

"This isn't a vacation," Wakka says somberly.

Yuna sighs. "I guess…I guess you're right." She walks away leaving the box forgotten by the temple stairs. I kind of feel bad for her…She has a smile on her face though but when she sees me, confusion clouds her eyes. "I'm sorry, I don' believe we've been met."

"Oh!" I say. "I'm Mandy; I'm traveling with Tidus here." And that's when it hits me. Her eyes. They're two different colors—blue and green. Interesting.

Yuna looks over at Tidus for conformation and he nods. "It's very nice to meet you," she says turning back to me. I nod at her and she turns back to the temple and bows for a moment and then turns back to us with a smile. I guess that's the sign that she's ready to go because everyone starts leaving the village.

At the entrance, I turn back to look for a moment too. If I had had a better start here, I'd probably be staying. I know I'll miss the breeze and palm trees. Besaid promises a peaceful life and it's kind of sad to have to be left behind.

"You coming?" I hear Tidus call behind me and I take once last look at the village and make my way towards everyone.

* * *

About an hour later, we're at the top of the cliff overlooking the village. Wakka and Tidus are praying at a small alter-ruin thing, hoping for a safe journey. Lulu and Yuna are already finished and are now looking down at the village. I don't pray and I don't look down at the village. I'm not a religious person and I hate long goodbyes. Thankfully, no one questions it.

When everyone's done, we start out again on the trail. This time, it's not some shady underwater trail that Wakka leads us down but an actual legit trail. Of course it's full of fiends and when we first left the village, we found out what Wakka's blitzball is really for—long range attacks. Tidus made an idiot of himself by trying to attack a flying fiend but Wakka straightened things out pretty quickly. Actually, it was funny to watch.

We're walking under some large red ruins when I see a blue carving one of them and, straying away from the group, I see that it's the same language that Tidus and I saw who knows when back at the horrible stormy ruins. I still can't make them out though so I turn away from them and join everyone else…

…to see Tidus being attacked by the giant cat guy from the temple. I can't believe I forgot about him. He's roars at Tidus and Tidus looks pretty startled but stands his ground as Giant Cat Guy attacks him with a huge spear. Tidus dodges it and in turn, whacks him with his sword. I don't think Tidus wants to hurt him because it was obvious that he's one of Yuna's friends.

This carries on for a while—Giant Cat Man attacking Tidus, Tidus avoiding his attacks until Wakka breaks it up. Giant Cat Man shakes his head and walks off as Wakka pats his enormous shoulder.

"What's with that guy?" Tidus asks, completely confused.

"Kimahri Ronso, of the Ronso tribe," Lulu answers. "He's learned the fiend's way of fighting."

"What? Surprise attacks? Sounds…noble…" I mumble to myself. Wakka nudges me for it.

"That's not what I meant," Tidus says.

Wakka pipes up this time. "He's another of Yuna's Guardians."

Yuna laughs suddenly and Tidus's face softens at the sound. I elbow him playfully.

"We don't understand him sometimes either," she says. "Kimahri doesn't talk much but…he has protected me since I was a child."

Tidus nods and with that we continue on our way. It's another few hours before we finally get to the beach. Along the way, Lulu showed us her magic. It was kind of cool but what was really interesting was Yuna's Aeon. When a rather large flyer came along, she summoned it and gave it quiet commands which it followed obediently. You could tell watching her that she has a special bond with it.

But now I'm here, looking up at everyone on the boat while arguing with one of the sailors.

"What do you mean I have to pay to get on?"

The sailor sighs impatiently. "Because the Lady Summoner's passage is paid for by the temple and the Auroch's have been paid for months in advance. _You_ still have to pay."

I groan exasperated. "But I'm with them," I say pointing at Yuna and Wakka. "Can't I just slip in with them?"

The sailor glares at me. "You could but you've already gotten in trouble with the temple—consider this paying your debt back. Two hundred gil."

I rub my temples with my fingers. "You are impossible. If I end up saving the world because I'm traveling with Yuna, _you_ are going to owe _me_." I dig a pouch and pull out the amount necessary and shove it into the guy's hand. He looks annoyed but you know, I don't care. I stroll onto the boat with all eyes on me and head straight downstairs to the cabins. Hmph.

Hours later, and somehow not sea sick, I emerge from cabins. Everyone stares at me and I glare at them not wanting to deal with them.

"Look, it's that girl—the one who declared herself Yuna's Guardian."

Wait what?

I look over to where the voice came from and see a young man gossiping with another woman her age. They don't make any effort to look away while I stare at them and stare right back with their mouths wide open. I roll my eyes and look for someone I know.

Luckily I find Lulu and Wakka. They're staring at something with bewildered looks on their faces and I look over in that direction and see Tidus on someone's shoulders trying to steal their binoculars. I raise my eyebrows and watch as Tidus practically wrestles the person and takes them successfully and looks around with them. He points them over at us and I give a little wave right before he finds Yuna with them and follows her. She notices him and also gives a little wave right before the sailor takes the binoculars back. Tidus scratches his head at him in apology and walks over to us.

"Oh hey, I haven't really told you where we're going," Wakka says when Tidus joins us.

"Aren't we going to uh…Luca?" Yea, that sounds right.

"We are but first it's Kilika Island. Then we change boats and head to Luca. Before that though, Yuna's gotta pray at the temple. I'll be Guarding. But you," he says, pointing at Tidus and I, "you guys pray too, for the Auroch's victory in the tournament." Tidus and I nod and smile.

I hear a sigh beside us though and we look over at Lulu who emitted it. "Great plan."

Wakka waves his arms in the air. "Hey! It is a great plan!" He looks over at Tidus and I for defense but I hold my hands up pleading to be left out. Tidus does the same. After a moment though, Tidus gets fidgety and wonders away. I start to follow but Wakka's voice stops me. "Mandy, we need to talk."

Oh boy, here it comes.

"What's this about you being a Guardian?"

I brush some invisible dust off my shirt. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"People are saying you're traveling with Yuna," Lulu supplies. "That would make you a Guardian however—we don't know who you are." Translation: we don't trust you.

Wakka tries a different approach. "Look, you may be good with a knife—"

"Dagger."

"But it may not be safe with that toxin in you, ya?"

"So you're kicking me out," I say. "I mean you helped me a lot so it would only be natural for you to kick me out when I'm trying to pay you back."

Actually I have no idea how I would pay them back but hey—being a Guardian seemed kind of perfect. They actually look guilty too.

"It's not like that," Wakka says.

"Oh come on guys." I plead. "Look…I don't know anyone _except_ you. At least until Wakka's full time again." They look at each other and actually seem to consider it.

"We'll ask Yuna later," Lulu compromises.

Good enough for me although I'm starting to feel the stress of 'what if'. As in 'what if Yuna says no'. I shake my head—let's not deal with it now. A moment later, Tidus walks back and I nod to Wakka and Lulu and go over and join him.

"Hey, how's the boat treating you?" I ask him.

"Eh…not bad. I found these things called uh…chocobos. They're kind of cool."

I smile. "Oh! Chocobos—they're adorable." Tidus gives me a look. "Oh…I guess I kind of remember them," I explain.

He nods and looks over at the haul of the where Yuna is standing with Kimahri and a ton of other sailors and travelers.

"Word is that Summoner's got noble blood!" One of them says as we walk up.

"I heard she's Lord Braska's daughter!"

Wait hold on, _what_? Lord Braska's daughter? As in—the guy who Wakka saw my mom with? Suddenly, Yuna just became a lot more interesting. Turning away, I started to walk back to Wakka. Tidus followed me, our boots thumping against the wood of the boat.

"Who's Braska?" I ask when I reach Wakka and Lulu. "Is he really Yuna's dad—and why is he famous again?"

"You saw his statue at the temple," Wakka responds patiently.

"Yes he is famous," Lulu fills in.

"Summoner Braska defeated Sin ten years ago. Yuna's the heir to a great legacy!" Wakka finally finishes.

"It's tough…when your father's famous," Tidus says under his breath.

I turn my head to him. "What?" He shakes his head, waving it off and I sigh. The topics of fathers—hell, the topic of parents in general isn't my favorite.

There's a shout from the row house and we turn to see that the captain yelling at the sailors surrounding Yuna. Instantly, they scatter and go back to their tasks, leaving Yuna open. I walk back over, hoping to talk. Again, Tidus follows although at a much more excited pace. I roll my eyes. Yuna turns when she hears our foot steps and steps to the side to give us space to stand with her. Tidus stretches and it's quiet as I try and find the right words to ask about Braska and my mom.

"The wind…it's nice," Yuna says pleasantly. Tidus makes a sound of agreement.

You have go to be kidding me…

I snort and I think they realize how awkward that sounded and start laughing together. I wait for them to stop and right when I open my mouth to ask my question, Yuna jumps in. "You're a blitzball player—from Zanarkand right?" She's asking Tidus—figures.

"You hear that from Wakka?" Yuna nods and Tidus continues. "Wakka…he doesn't believe me, well us," he says nodding to me. I give a smile.

Yuna steps back and folds her hands behind her back. "Oh, but…I believe you." Tidus sits up a little from where he was resting on the rail. "I heard in Zanarkand that there is a great stadium all lit up, even at night. Great blitzball tournaments are held there and the stands are always full."

Tidus is interested now, wondering how she knows this and so am I. Tidus though gets up from the rail. "How do you know?"

"A man named Jecht told me. He was my father's Guardian."

I think I've heard that name before but I don't know where. I'm trying to think of it but I can't. Tidus though shuts off and scoffs. "Jecht…my old man's name is Jecht." Oh! That's it.

Yuna is completely blown away and runs up to Tidus. "Amazing!" She does the prayer—I'm starting to get tired of it. "You know, our meeting here must be the blessing of Yevon."

Tidus doesn't see it that way though, I can tell from his face and stance. "It sounds like him but it can't be. My old man…he died ten years ago, off the coast of Zanarkand." I suck in some breath and Yuna apologizes sympathetically. "He went out for training and never came back."

Why does this sound familiar? I know the answer though. It's what happened to my mother. Going out to run some errands and not coming back. Not even leaving behind a body. I shake my head, trying to deny it. She couldn't have ended up here if she _died_. It doesn't work that way. But even still, I look down at my hands and think of how I got here. That truck, I know it hit me—perhaps I died and came here. Or something.

But no. I don't want to think about it.

Yuna gasps and turns to us. "Why, that's the day that Sir Jecht came to Spira!" Tidus turns to Yuna in confusion and I stare out to sea. "It's true, I first met Jecht ten years and three months ago. I remember that was the day my father left. The date fits, doesn't it?"

The date. My eyes narrow when I think about it. Ten years and three months ago. Ten years and three months…

"Did your father also have a Guardian named Victoria?" I ask, not taking my eyes off sea.

"Why…yes, he did. She was lovely and very kind."

Mom was in Spira.

Running my hands through my hair, I turn to Yuna and try my best to smile. "She's my mom."

Tidus and Yuna look at me in shock.

"You serious?" Tidus asks and I nod.

Yuna does the prayer again. "Today…truly is the blessing of Yevon. There must be a reason for all of us together."

"Yea, I can only imagine what," I say. Yuna looks at me confused but Tidus is serious. I think he's thinking what I am.

It's almost too convenient that all of us are on the same boat, heading to the same place, all with the same story; our parents left and did something to change the world. I shake my head. I can feel hot tears rushing to my eyes as I think about myself in my mom's situation—being in a strange world and not knowing anyone. I don't want to follow in her footsteps—I don't even know what her footsteps are!

That kid is _so_ in trouble with me.

There's a violent shutter with the boat and we're all jolted forward. I grab for the rail in front of me and grasp it with a death grip. Tidus does the same but Yuna falls and starts sliding away as the boat starts to lean to the left. Tidus grabs her hand. The boat then jolts up, splashing water everywhere and I'm instantly soaked. My grip on the rail increases but my feet slip when the boat hits a large wave and goes back down and I try my best not to let go.

The boat whips to it's other side and Yuna, being the only one not holding on to something, goes with it. Through the amount of water spraying all around me, I see Tidus trying his best to keep hold of her but it's not enough. His grip gives out and Yuna sails backward, and somehow avoids being speared by the huge harpoon she grabs hold of. There's a flash of blue and I see Kimahri has jumped up next to her and steadies her.

We all share looks but they're quickly cut off. There's a great roar behind us and I turn my head and see a massive…fin? Yes, it looks like a fin. It also looks familiar but I can't figure out why.

"SIN!"

That's why. Shivers run down my spine and I know it's not from my soaked clothes. It's the first time I've seen Sin since that disaster in Zanarkand and I am not happy at all about it. My knuckles turn white from my gripping the rail and I get _pissed off_. It feels like a great energy has built up in me and it's all I can do to hold it in.

Sin moves around the boat, trying to cut us off. Huge waves rock us and it's worse than turbulence on a plane. A sailor runs to the harpoon that Yuna almost hit and aims it at Sin. He's stopped by Wakka though.

"What do you think you're doing?" He says frantically. "Stick a harpoon in it and we're all dragged under!"

"It's headed for Kilika, we gotta distract it!"

The sailor at the harpoon looked at Yuna pleadingly. "Our families are in Kilika—forgive us Lady Summoner."

Why only ask for her forgiveness? Aren't we all on this boat, all dealing with Sin too? My hands tightened on the rail. Yuna nods, giving her consent. The sailor takes a deep breath and shoots the harpoon at Sin. It lands with some what wavering accuracy in the middle of Sin's fin. The rope is slack for just a second before becoming taut and immediately the boat is dragged forward as Sin whips about.

"Oh jeeze," I mumble from my spot on the rail.

All around me is water. The huge waves, the spraying of water over us. There's probably more water on this boat than in the ocean it self. And in the midst of it all, a Sinspawn suddenly appears next to me. I shriek and grab my dagger, somehow managing to take it out it's sheath and killing it. The water has stopped for a moment and I turn and see Tidus and Yuna and her Guardians standing in battle formation, ready to attack anymore Sinspawn that appear. Ignoring the fierce rocking of the boat, I run over and join them, somehow managing not to fall or slip. They nod at me and I stand beside them, ready for more fiends to come.

They come in small numbers, usually three or four at a time. Tidus, Wakka, and I take them out easily enough. It's almost strange how accustomed I've become with my dagger—striking fiends down has almost become a dance and I have to say, I've become kind of good at it. Unfortunately, Sin is unforgiving and keeps sending more. It's annoying and we're all frustrated.

In the third or so round of this…dance…I remember something. "Tidus!" He looks over at me and I dodge an attack. "Remember Zanarkand—the huge tentacle?" He's confused for a moment but then something clicks in his mind.

"Lulu! Wakka!" He shouts and they come to attention. "Attack Sin! He's the source!"

More Spawn come on the boat and Wakka and Lulu exchange looks. "We'll take care of the fiends," I reassure them. They nod and Lulu builds up her magic, sending a water spell at Sin while Wakka whacks it with his blitzball.

But somehow, I know that it's not enough. It's taking too long. Frantically, I take down a fiend that tries to jump on me and I spot Yuna, still being steadied by Kimahri. "Yuna! Summon your Aeon!"

Yuna's eyes widen and she takes out her staff—the rod that Tidus and I found at the temple. I had forgotten about it and I wonder when she got it but it doesn't matter. Using the same movements as back in the village, she summons her Aeon and shouts commands at it. It does as it's told and I can tell it does much, much more damage than Wakka and Lulu.

A fiend comes shrieking towards me and manages to gash my arm. I give out a painful yelp and slash at it, bringing it down with a blaze of colors and lights. Digging in one of my pouches, I bring out a potion and heal myself. Instantly the pain and blood are gone, leaving no scar or remnant of the injury.

Just then, I see Yuna's Aeon do something strange. It's building up an energy ball in it's mouth and very quickly, sends it at Sin, drawing a line in it and with the blink of an eye, it explodes. There's a deafening roar and I think my eyes are tricking me because it looks like Sin is sinking back into the ocean. The harpoon is ripped off the boat as it does but on my other side, I see its body rising up and its tail come crashing down on the water. A huge wave, bigger than most, comes crashing down on us and soaks us down to the bone. And just like that, Sin is gone.

Its Spawn though, aren't. They're standing there, flickering their wings menacingly at us and I roll my eyes. Yuna dismisses her Aeon and it flies away with a gust of wind. One of the fiends tries to go for her but, being the closest to her, I attack.

My attack is unlike any I've done before. The energy I felt before comes rushing to the surface and as if someone possesses my body, I raise my dagger above my head and send the energy to the tip. Three balls of purple and black crackling energy circle it and I hurl them at the Spawn, each one of the balls landing squarely into them. Instantly, they're all down and disappear in the colorful lights. I stare at them, breathing hard. What the hell was that?

"Where's Tidus?"

I turn to my right and see Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri all standing there looking worried. I join them and look around and see only frightened sailors. No sign on Tidus. I hear a splash and turn and see Wakka is gone. We rush to the rail and faintly I see Tidus's floating form and Wakka swimming over. I squint my eyes and see Wakka toss something at Tidus. Tidus jerks awake and they give each other a high five.

We release a sigh of relief and start to back from the rail but something stops us. A dark _something_ comes rushing to them and attacks them. Of course it's a fiend—of course it's a water fiend. Nothing can be easy in this world. I roll my eyes—nothing is easy in any world it seems. And of course, Tidus and Wakka disappear from sight, off to fight the fiend.

I turn away from the rail and pace around in circles. It doesn't help. Yuna also turns away and watches me, eyes worried. "That was a good Overdrive."

I stop pacing for a moment. "What?" I wonder if she's making small talk and I realize that she is. She's worried about her Guardian and friend. I am too.

"An overdrive," Lulu says, also coming from the rail. "It's what we call a build up of energy in us that eventually releases to deal a great amount of damage to our foe."

"Oh," I say. "I was wondering about that."

"You really are talented," Lulu says. She looks towards Yuna. "We were discussing the option of perhaps making her a Guardian until Wakka can fully commit."

Actually I had forgotten about that.

Yuna perks up though and nods. "Oh! Yes, that would be an honor." She bows to me and, not knowing what else to do, I bow back. Yuna smiles at me. "Welcome, Lady Mandy."

Lady Mandy. That kind of has a nice ring to it. Lulu smiles at me and I see that it's a bit warmer than usual. Even Kimahri nods at me.

A splash behind us brings us to attention and we all turn to the rail and see Wakka and Tidus hoisting themselves out of the water. They're dripping with water, as to be expected and as far as I can tell, they have no injures except exhaustion—they're both breathing hard and slump on the floor of the boat. We all let out breaths of relief that they're OK and even I'm feeling a little less stressed.

It's another couple hours til we're due to arrive in Kilika and after the events of the fight, we all agree to head down to the cabins and rest for the remainder of the trip. I don't rest well. I just lie in my cot, having been dried off by a heat spell from Lulu, and stare at the ceiling. So many thoughts run through my head and I there's no way I'm going to sort them out in just a few hours. Instead, I work on my sphere grid and marvel at how much stronger I feel.

In what seems like minutes though, there's a shout from the deck and we all rush up the stairs. The sky has turned pink and yellow from the sunset and it's beautiful. I find Yuna and the others and see them staring gravely out in the distance. I turn to look too and suck in a sharp breath.

We've arrived in Kilika in one piece and for once I'm not whisked away by Sin. The only problem? I'm awake and Kilika has been whisked away by Sin.

* * *

A/N: UGUGUHGUHG. It's done. I'm sorry for the wait guys. School has been kicking my ass and I _finally_ got a chance to write this. Actually, I've been writing it for the better part of a month but I managed, somehow, to get like…three days to myself. But yea, I'm sorry for the wait. As a small consolation though, this is the longest chapter yet.

So yea. Let's see…I covered Braska, Mandy's mom, Lulu and Kimahri, and uh…aeons and overdrives. And some humor. You get to see some of Mandy's dry humor—sorry if it's too dry. There was more but I cut some out for your sakes. Most of it was bad puns (I'm a sucker for bad puns—Shakespeare's got nothing on me). Also, the fun part about being an English major is that I can make stupid little literary jokes.

So yea, I'll stop talking now. Again, I'm sorry for the wait. And sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes—I type this up all by myself and read over everything and _hope_ I get it all.

I really hope you liked this chapter (and that you like…_read_ it). Tell me what you think! (That means reviewing lol.)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Oh, what's this? A Christmas Miracle? No...it's just an update.

So hey guys. I'm still alive and so is this story. Sorry for disappearing for uh...almost 3 months. In my defense I'm a busy college student who got sucked into the vertex of classes and professors. Oh and then I decided to write a book in November (NaNoWriMo--yes I won). This chapter took foorreevveerrr to write, even when I got on winter break. And I couldn't figure it out either--maybe it was the mood in the beginning? I don't know, I'm just happy that's it's finished and I can move onto Luca. Sorry if it sucks though, I swear I worked hard on it. Anyway, Merry Christmas and happy reading (and please review).

Also I figure I should do this: I don't own Final Fantasy--just Mandy. Oh and Jake. And Victoria.

* * *

Kilika is in ruins. I'm standing on the dock of what was once probably a happy, beautiful paradise and I think about the ruins that I saw in Besaid: tall and proud they must have once stood but now they were old and all but forgotten. But I shake my head; Kilika is nowhere near that. Now, the ruins before me are fresh and remind me of the Zanarkand I saw destroyed in front of me.

Looking around, I try not to think about the last moments of the people who lived here. It is my first time standing in the aftermath of Sin's destruction and I'm not sure how I feel just yet. The dock is slick from the water that must have rushed up and there is debris everywhere; palm trees, splintered wood…household items. Scattered everywhere.

I'm amazed to see some of the dock still standing and with huts, some almost untouched. But I look to my right and I see where the dock abruptly ends; where the small water village spread and at one point bustled.

"I will defeat Sin. I must defeat Sin."

That was what Yuna said when Sin finally left and Wakka brought Tidus back aboard the ship. But I close my eyes and shake my head slightly and I wonder: how? How can she defeat something that destroys life so easily?

I hear footsteps behind me and I turn and see Yuna and the others stepping off the boat and onto the dock. I take another look at the destroyed village and turn fully to where Yuna is standing and take a few short steps toward her. I hear someone run up beside me and Yuna bows to them: a middle aged woman and man with worried looks on their faces.

"I am the Summoner Yuna, from the Isle of Besaid," Yuna says, confidence resounding in her voice.

The man and woman's faces both show relief at Yuna's statement. "Oh! My Lady Summoner!"

"If there is no other Summoner here, please allow me to perform the sending," Yuna then says.

Sending? I wonder, confusedly, what a Sending is. From the sound of the conversation between the villagers and Yuna, I assume that it is a good thing that she is here. The villagers leave with Yuna though, with Lulu and Kimahri in tow and I look up then at the boat and see Tidus also standing with a confused look.

Tidus makes his way onto the dock, his boots amplifying his steps and I try not to think of what the dock itself had gone though. Just then Wakka also steps onto the dock.

"We'll go see what we can do to help the town," he says and runs off, leaving Tidus and I to watch after him. The rest of the Besaid Aurochs follow Wakka and run down the dock, looking for anything that can be helped.

Tidus and I look at each other and I see that his eyes are overwhelmed, heavy from the events that happened and carry with them everything that I feel. I wonder if I look the same way.

"Want to go help Wakka?" I ask, trying to make myself feel something. If I help with something, anything, maybe I will.

"What's Sending?" Tidus asks instead and I shrug. "Well I'm going to find out."

I nod then, deciding that I would rather be in the calm presence of Yuna and see if I may guard her since Wakka is unavailable. "I'll come with you."

Tidus nods at me and runs down the dock, taking the same route as the villagers and Yuna. I follow him. I try to ignore the fallen huts around me and instead focus ahead of me and the sky. It's turned pink and orange in the sunset and it reminds me of Yuna though I hate that it's surrounded by so much chaos and destruction.

Further down the dock, many villagers have gathered and are watching Yuna talk to a village elder on a small beach. Torches are lit on the dock and the water gently rolls on to the sand. I spot Lulu and I grab Tidus and drag him over to her.

"Uh…what's a Sending?" Tidus asks Lulu quietly, looking out at Yuna. "Are we going somewhere?"

Lulu sighs exasperated. "You truly are clueless. Are you sure it's just your memory that's the problem?" I snort in laughter but quickly sober up as both Lulu and Tidus give me looks.

"The dead need guidance," Lulu says anyway. "Filled with grief from their own death, they refuse to accept their fate. They yearn to live on and resent those still alive. You see, they envy the living and in time that envy turns to anger, even hatred. Should these souls remain in Spira, they become fiends that prey on the living."

"Wait," I say, interrupting her. "You mean that those things that we've been killing were people?"

"In a former life, yes." Lulu says simply. "Sad, isn't it? The Sending takes them to the Farplane where they may rest in peace."

I don't say anything and turn away, looking out over the crying people. Suddenly I don't feel right and that I shouldn't be here. I look down at Yuna still talking to the village elder on the sand but my eyes drift past her, to the water where under it I can vaguely make out something floating. Curious, I walk closer and lean against a pole that's holding a torch. I peer into the pink water, pink from the sunset, and see what looks like bouquets of red flowers attached to…boats? No that can't be right…

I lean closer into the water and Lulu's words come back to me and I realize: those are people, dead from the attack from Sin and waiting for their funeral.

I've only been to one funeral: my mother's. Now, the feeling that I shouldn't be here intensifies and I hug the pole to me, wishing I could be home. A few moments later though, Yuna finishes talking to the village elder and she turns to the water. Taking a deep breath and holding her rod out, she walks onto the water, over the dead bodies and into their center, and starts to dance.

All around me, I hear villagers crying as their loved ones are being sent away to their resting place and colorful lights float past Yuna, crying out. But my eyes are transfixed on Yuna as she performs her duty, twirling her rod and spinning but yet hardly disrupting the bodies around her. The flame on the torch above me blazes and I look up briefly to see that it has turned blue.

I think of my mother's funeral then. I felt ashamed that I couldn't cry and everyone around me was talking to me and trying to tell me how sorry they were but I didn't care. It didn't matter to me because my mother was dead and not coming home. In that moment, I feel a glimmer of shame again but not for the same reason—the people around me, their loved ones were gone but my mother…there is a chance that she is still alive and I feel disconnected in a way.

But Yuna dances on. In a reminder that life does go on and the people standing on the dock are going to be OK, Yuna dances on. It's beautiful and even somewhat disturbing. I look over to the side where Tidus is standing and his eyes are glued onto Yuna, a look of pain passing through his eyes as he watches her.

Finally, when the sun dips below the horizon and the last spirit disappears, Yuna stops dancing and walked back onto the dock. Looking at her, nothing comes to surface—she's still Yuna and she's quiet and soft. But as I look closer, I see her eyes red and slightly puffy and her cheeks stained with tears.

"Must be tough…being a Summoner," I hear Tidus say and I nod to myself, agreeing with him as I take in Yuna's quiet disposition. I look back and see Lulu nod as well before straightening herself out.

"Yuna chose her own path, she knew from the beginning what it meant," is Lulu's simple response. "All we can do is protect her along the way, until the end."

I look sharply at Lulu as she says this and I see that her red eyes have clouded and she's looking at Yuna with sadness. A thought floats in my head as I try and think of what she could mean but I try to shake it off, thinking that it's just thoughts of funerals that have formed it.

"Until the end?" Tidus asks. "What's the end?"

Lulu is silent for a moment as she continues to stare at Yuna and I know then.

"Lulu?"

Our eyes meet as Lulu break's her gaze away from Yuna and her eyes spark with acknowledgement. Lulu knows that I know but we both can't make ourselves say it. I don't know how it will happen but I know.

"Until she defeats Sin," Lulu says, addressing Tidus again as if he is a child and needs constant reminder of everything.

"But—" I start but Lulu cuts me off, giving me a look before walking over to Yuna.

"Wait, what?" Tidus asks, looking between me and Lulu, who is now gushing over Yuna. I look at him and seeing his confused eyes, I realize that he does not know and that Lulu was trying to protect him—or at least keep him in the dark. Ignorance is bliss after all.

"Nothing," I say, patting him on the shoulder and walk away from him and the sight of the funeral. I suddenly feel sick at this knowledge and I want to get away and cry and scream and do all of that at once but I know that I won't let myself—Kilika has seen too much grief and sadness in one day.

"Let's go help Wakka," I finally shout, clutching my hands together to keep them from shaking. Tidus nods and with one last look at Yuna follows me.

* * *

Lying in bed at the small inn that somehow managed to survive Sin's attack, I cannot sleep. After the day's events, sleep was the one thing that I looked forward to and to suddenly not be able to sleep was deeply upsetting.

In the darkness, as I stare at the ceiling I hear Lulu's soft breathing and I wish that I could escape the reality, the world that I'm in but my thoughts running through my mind keep me awake. I run a hand over my face and sit up quietly, hoping not to disturb Lulu. I slip my feet out of the thin sheets and I place them on the cool wooden floor and stand slowly, hoping that the boards don't creak. When they don't, I breathe out a sigh of relief and make my way to the door and silently exit the inn, stepping out onto the breezy dock of Kilika.

In the darkness, under the light of the moon and stars, the destruction of the village is barely noticeable and just looks like a regular board walk that one might find along a beach. Somehow, this makes being here easier and I walk away from the inn, going toward the end of the boardwalk. My bare feet make hardly any sound and the only thing that utters something is the rustling of my skirts in the breeze. No one is out and even the seagulls are silent.

Looking out into the ocean, black and seemingly endless, I try and steer my thoughts away from the events that took place. Sin's attack of the ship, my new responsibility as Yuna's temporary Guardian, Sin's attack of Kilika, and the Sending. Each memory fills my mind and passes through, playing over and over like an endless movie and I want to cry out, to make it stop. Somewhere, the thought of my mother comes out as I wish for her comfort and suddenly my mind freezes.

Mom. Knowing that she is possibly out there, somewhere, fills me with despair. Just the fact that she was _here_ and not home, where she belonged. It didn't matter that home was a shitty place and Dad was just as shitty, her place was at home with me, protecting me from Dad. It didn't seem fair either—she was alive, maybe, and Yuna has to die.

My eyes fill with tears at the thought. I don't know how and I don't really want to find out how, but Yuna was going to die. Lulu made that clear at the end of the Sending and I think of Yuna. In the back of my mind, I wish that it's not true, that the end of the Pilgrimage is just her truly defeating Sin. At this point, it's all that I can hope for. Yuna will not die, she can't. I barely know her but I know that she can defeat Sin and will not die.

Looking out into the ocean, I nod as I think about this and I suddenly feel a little better. Chanting this over and over again, I make myself believe that nothing will not happen to Yuna and nothing will happen to anyone I travel with. Turning away, I walk back to the inn, my head clear and somehow full of hope.

* * *

"Wake up!"

Tidus's voice cut through my slumber and woke me harshly. I jump, wide awake and grab my pillow and hurl it at him. "Go away; this is the girl's room."

"This isn't anyone's room," Tidus responds, throwing the pillow back at me. I catch it before it can hit me and let it fall on the ground. "We're checked out and Wakka and Lulu want us for something."

I run a hand down my face, feeling it slightly oily and wish for a bath. "Did they say what they want us for?" I wonder if I have time for a shower…

"No just that they'll be waiting."

"Right well," I say clapping my hands together and gathering my boots, dagger, and pouches, "you go ahead—I'm gonna stay here for a few more minutes getting myself decent."

Tidus shrugs his shoulders and turns away. "Suit yourself," he says before exiting the room.

Slinging my pouches over my shoulder and piling my boots and dagger into my arms, I exit the room as well but go in the opposite way that Tidus does in search for the bathrooms. Being a small inn in an isolated village on a tropical village, I found out the night before that the bathing rooms aren't private and actually really small—one tub with water pumped from a small tank on the first floor.

Closing and locking the door behind me when I enter, I immediately take my clothes off, casting them aside for the first time in days and pump the water into the small wooden tub. It's not much but it's something—clean water that isn't laced with salt and soaps can really make a difference and I feel that as I wash my hair, combing the tangles out from my blond tresses with my fingers. I wash the rest of my body and climb out of the tub and dry off before putting my clothes back on, wishing desperately I had a way of washing them as well.

But it doesn't matter—for the first time in days I feel absolutely refreshed and clean, something that I had taken for granted at home but now it's pretty much the best feeling in world. Somehow, amazingly, my clothes don't even feel or look dirty which I'm very happy for.

Buckling my pouches across my waist, I stare at them and wonder. I don't have my backpack with me and while the pouches have a bunch of stuff in them, it doesn't look like it. Thinking about my backpack, I think of all the stuff that was inside of it, stuff that might be lost now because it's not here with me. But, I think, are they really lost?

Without a second though, because I'm feeling weirdly hopeful, I plunge a hand into one of my pouches, probing the sides and moving around the potions that are stashed and brush against something that does not feel like a vile of potion or even that weird Moon thing. Grasping it, I pull it out carefully and stare at it.

"Are you serious? Really?"

Around a year ago, I went to a yard sale with Jake. Armed with a measly ten bucks, I found an old Nikon camera from the seventies. I haggled the price down from ten to five and immediately went to the store to get some film to go with it. I never left the house without it and now, apparently, I never left my _world_ without it. Shaking my head, I note that it still has a good ten pictures left on it (though it probably doesn't work after everything) and slip it back into my pouch. Feeling my hair slightly tangled, I dig through another pouch, hoping to find the brush I kept in my backpack and sure enough I find it.

"Thank you thank you thank you," I chant, running my brush through my hair before putting it back. Sitting on the edge of the tub, I tug my boots back onto my feet and tuck my dagger through my belt and head out of the small inn.

* * *

"Hey Mandy you missed it. I saved a kid from a collapsing house!"

"How awesome for you," I say dryly when I meet up with the group in the forest at the edge of the village. "I helped save a whole ship from a watery doom."

Tidus rolls his eyes at me mockingly and turns to everyone else. Yuna looks bright and happy, as does Wakka and Lulu. Kimahri, well…he's just himself.

"So what's up," Tidus says now that the whole group is assembled.

Lulu walks forward, sighs and shakes her head in dismay. "Yuna says she wants you as her Guardian."

Tidus blinks and I raise an eyebrow at Yuna questionably. Wakka's eyes go wide as he hears Lulu's statement. "What?"

"I want him as my Guardian," Yuna says softly, looking at Tidus with a smile. He scratches his head in response.

"This isn't a joke," Wakka says, walking around her. "They guy maybe a Blitzball whiz-kid but up against fiends, he's a newbie. Added with this girl here," he says pointing at him, "well, it'd just be a disaster."

"Hey!" I cry out indignantly. "I can take care of fiends just fine—we both can."

"Yea but as far as experience goes, we got you beat," Wakka responds, gesturing to him and Lulu and Kimahri. I don't say anything and just roll my eyes—after all, I've already got the part-time position.

Yuna seems to take what Wakka says seriously though and nods, her eyes serious. "Not a Guardian then, I just want him nearby."

'_Aww how cute,_' I think as Wakka looks shocked and Tidus moves over to face Yuna, obviously stunned and confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You mean it's not obvious?" I say but Lulu cuts me off before I can really get the words out and so no one notices them.

"We're all going to the temple anyway," Lulu says calmly, "can't this wait until afterwards?"

Yuna nods at Lulu's words and looks at Tidus. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"There's nothing to be sorry for—I'm just not really sure what's going on," Tidus interrupts.

"My apologies," is all Yuna says as she turns and follows Kimahri into the woods. Lulu and Wakka do the same and soon it's just Tidus and I.

"You are so clueless," I say, bumping into Tidus with my shoulder to show I'm teasing.

"About what?"

My eyes widen in disbelief and I stare at him, trying not to laugh in his face. "Are you serious?" But he continues to look confused and I realized that yes, he is serious and this time I do laugh and pat his shoulder lightly. "Never mind, this is too good."

Tidus is about to say something but we hear Wakka's voice, shouting at us to catch up and we both snap into action as we realize that the group has moved on far ahead of us.

We run into the woods, trying to catch up to Yuna and the others. Before I hadn't really noticed the heat, probably because of the cool sea breeze but now, with the breeze gone and me running, I realize that it is very hot. I'm glad for the shade as we move our way through the woods and when we finally catch up to the others, we find them in small battle against a plant…thing.

Tidus and I take our places off to the side, getting our weapons out and taking stance, ready to attack from the side if need be. The plant shoots something at Kimahri and he growls before running towards it and swiping it with his long staff. Lulu chants something and a fire burst forms above the fiend and slams it with heat and burns it. When small little lights come forth from the plant as it becomes still, we know that it's dead and relax.

"Where were you guys?" Wakka asks loudly, "you can't just lag behind like that—especially you Miss Temporary Guardian."

"It's fine Wakka, everything turned out well in the end," Yuna says peacefully, giving Tidus and I smile and then nodding at Kimahri and Lulu before continuing the walk along the path.

"Sorry, Wakka," Tidus and I mumble together before joining Yuna. Wakka doesn't say anything, just shrugs and follows us, Lulu in tow.

We're walking along a cliff, the trees of the forest are draping over the side, gracefully hugging the earth that housed them. From here I can hear the sea and smell the salty air, and even feel a small breeze, something that I'm grateful for in my black and not so airy clothes. I try not to think of how Lulu's feeling in her corset and heavy gown and secretly curse the temple for being so far from the village.

But really it's nice and eventually the rest of the Aurochs join us as they are also on their way to the temple. At about the halfway point (as determined by a statement from Wakka), a villager pulls Tidus to the side and give him a few green bottles which the villager says are antidotes for poisons.

Yuna suggests we take a break but Wakka says that it's not too much longer and so we carry on, fighting sweat and heat and trek our way through the rest of the woods. Looking up at the leaf covered sky above me, I wonder what time it is but know from the direction in which the shadows are coming from that it's nearing early afternoon already. I hope that we can at least stay a few hours at the village to wait until the heat breaks in the day before heading back to the village.

But finally we arrive at a long stair well that seems to go up for miles. I stare at it with tired eyes, wondering why oh why are there so many…

"These stone steps have a history you know," Wakka says proudly as he takes them in. Around us the rest of the Aurochs have started stretching and my eyes narrow at them, annoyed that they have the energy to do that and even care.

All I want is to lie down and take my boots off and never put them on again. Sure, I like walking but ugh, not in this kind of heat.

"Yup, Lord Ohalland trained here at his peak," Wakka says.

The stretching Aurochs then give out snickers and flash us smug and arrogant looks as they continue their task and my mouth opens slight as I realize what they intend to do. "Oh no…"

"A race huh?" Tidus says as he understands as well. He looks towards me and I shake my head.

"You're on your own with this one," I say, whipping my forehead with my hand to show that I'm done the heat.

With a laugh Tidus moves around me and looks at the Aurochs and also shares in the arrogant look. "Think you can beat me?" They all grunt like the guys they are and I shake my head at them.

Everyone intending to race lines up along the base of the stairs and Wakka turns to Yuna, the most trustworthy of us all. "Yuna, if you would?"

Lulu and I just stand to the side, arms crossed and shaking our heads slightly. Yuna steps up and with a smile, raises her hand.

"Ready!"

She does not count down though and with a breathy laugh, she takes off running up the stairs and I smile, knowing that she's bested the guys. They all let out shouts after Yuna and run up to follow her, laughing all the while. Lulu shakes her head and follows, Kimahri some paces behind her and after taking a deep breath and fan myself with my hand for a few seconds, I follow them.

It's not that I'm tired (which I am) and out of shape (which I still am, despite everything I've done the last couple of days) that is making me sluggish but the heat. I'm grateful then for the breeze I feel while walking up the stairs and pull my hair up with my hands, feeling the sweat drip down on my neck and cooled by the breeze. It feels nice and I close my eyes, breathing in the sun and breeze and salty air.

I barely have time to let all of the carbon out from my lungs though when I hear a shout and my eyes fly open because I know that it's a call of distress. Looking up towards the top of the stairs, I see a small bit of smoke and I grumble for barely a second before taking hold of my dagger and start running the rest of the way up the stairs.

Yuna and Wakka are already in place and when I reach the top and step onto the large circular landing, I see Tidus and Lulu running to take a spot next to Yuna while Kimahri takes his place next to Wakka. The rest of the Auroch team runs past me, shouting in fear and I know why. Fiends, huge fiends have taken root and residence on the landing.

"What are these things?" I ask, coming up beside Lulu.

"Sinspawn," she quickly responds before sending another fire blast at one of them, a large tentacle that is waving about like a crazed hand.

In response it writhes in pain and comes lashing out at Lulu and I. I quickly duck to my right to avoid being hit and take the opportunity to lash my dagger at it, cutting off one its tentacles and sending it to the ground where it disappears in a haze of lights. I look behind me and see that Tidus and Wakka are working on the other tentacle Sinspawn while Kimahri takes swings and whacks at the large dome that is sitting in between them.

I hear a whipping down behind me and I turn just in time to see a tentacle coming my way and I veer sharply around, bring my dagger to meet it and slice the thing off. Not wanting to be caught unawares again, I run toward the base of it and slash it, leaving a long and gapping gash in it.

"Look out," I hear behind me and I immediately obey, running to the side, beside Tidus. I hear another burst of fire and I know that Lulu has hit the Sinspawn. Tidus and I share a quick look, turning to face the tentacle Sinspawn in front of us and run towards it, both of us slashing at it. It writhes in pain before falling over, making both of us run to the side to avoid it, and bursting into little lights. With that one down, we turn to see that Lulu has taken down the other.

"Yuna, your Aeon!" Lulu shouts and I look behind me to where Yuna is standing with a fierce look in her eyes. She nods and shouts at us to move to the side, just as the dome Sinspawn bursts open, revealing a nastier and bigger Sinspawn.

With a burst of flashes and lights, and a grumble from the sky, Yuna's Aeon lands before her and she gives it a quick pat before motioning it forward. The rest of us move away, taking cover by the stairs where other spectators have gathered and are watching the battle.

Wakka nurses a wound from one of the Sinspawn and drizzles a potion over it, healing it. The rest of us are fine and watch Yuna command the winged Aeon to do her bidding and in a matter of minutes, the Sinspawn is taken out in a haze of lights. An easy battle.

I slump to the ground and whip away the sweat that's gathered on my brow and tuck my dagger back into my belt. Tidus also slumps over, though not on the ground.

"Being a Guardian's tough!" he says, panting.

I snort and he throws a look at me. "Please," I say, "you're not a Guardian yet. Although really you should be by now…"

Wakka laughs. "Sorry 'bout that—hoped to break you in a bit easier."

"Compared to everything else we've been through, this was a piece of cake," I say dryly and turn to Tidus. "Remember in Zanarkand—things like these—Sinspawn came after us. We had to cut our way through and do all kinds of crazy shit…"

"Hey!" Tidus exclaims as if remembering something. "What are those things anyway, those Sinspawn things?"

"Fiends," Lulu says simply, turning away and beginning to walk towards over side of the landing where more stairs wait for us, "they fall from Sin's body and are left behind in its wake."

"Leave 'em alone and Sin comes after them—you gotta be quick," Wakka explains, also walking away. Yuna gives Tidus a small smile before following them.

"You know," Tidus says when everyone starts ascending the stairs. He looks deep in thought and his words come out quietly and seriously. "Maybe I _should_ become a Guardian…"

"Seriously?" I ask, though I'm not really that surprised.

"Yea," Tidus says. "I mean, why not—it's the least I could do for Yuna. What do you think?" He asks this as an afterthought.

"I think…" I start before seeing how far up the stairs Yuna and everyone are, "that _I_ need to get back to my job. But go for it—if they'll have you." I start for the stairs, wanting to catch up to the others. Tidus sighs and follows.

* * *

"So," Wakka starts when everyone in the group is back together. "They got fiends in Zanarkand?"

"Just a few," Tidus responds. "It's a big deal when one shows up though. Have you seen any before, Mandy?"

'_Oh yea_,_ I battle them every day on the way to school_—_and gym class? Crazy shit_,' I think before responding. "No, it's completely new to me. Hey," I start, realizing something, "does this mean you believe Tidus about Zanarkand?"

Tidus lets out a sound of realization as well and turns to Wakka expectantly.

"I've been thinking 'bout that," Wakka says, going up a few more steps before stopping and turning to us, eyes distant, "maybe people Sin gets to don't die—maybe they get transported through time, like a thousand years or something. Then maybe one day they just pop back, see?"

"Amazing, simply amazing," Lulu cuts in, sounding annoyed, "you come up with one theory after another and refuse to face the simple fact: Chappu is dead—Sin did not transport him through time, he crushed him and left him to die and he will not just 'pop' back one day."

She walks past Wakka, going further up the stairs and then stops. "And another thing: no matter how you try, no one can take Chappu's place. No one can replace Jecht or Victoria and there's no replacement for Braska either. It's pointless to think about it, and sad." And with that final word, she walks away, Kimahri behind her.

Heat rushes to my face, slightly angered that she would crush Wakka's hope like that and I want to call her out on being so heartless. Leaving Wakka sitting on the ground with Tidus, I rush up the stairs with Yuna, going after Lulu.

"Lulu," Yuna says quietly, calling after Lulu when we reach another smaller landing, "please don't be angered at Wakka, he was only trying to ease his own thoughts."

"But why would you say something like that?" I question Lulu. Lulu turns to me, eyes hard.

"What happened is none of your concern. You would be wise to stay out of it."

"But that's gotta hurt—not only Wakka but yourself. Denying yourself some kind of hope has to suck, right? I mean, don't you wonder where those people have gone?" I prod her with more questions, hoping to get some kind of response from her.

"I know where they have gone," Lulu said coldly, moving around me and ascending more stairs. I follow her, Yuna right behind me and looking nervous at our conversation. "The Farplane."

"Uh…" I say, not really sure exactly what that is, "well that's great and all but what about the bigger picture? They have to live on somehow to you right?" Lulu doesn't say anything and I continue. "So who ever these people are, their existence continues through memories, places—some people like to say cheesy things like 'your mother lives on through you' to me and sure it's stupid but it's a nice thought, you know. I—" I stop though as she rolls her eyes but I ignore it, "you said Victoria earlier, does that mean she's dead?"

"Nobody knows," Lulu says, finally turning to me, "why do you ask?"

"Well…she might be my mom."

Lulu stares at me for a minute before turning away again. "I'm sorry."

Yuna doesn't say anything through this whole thing and simply takes my hand and guides me up the stairs, following Lulu. I sigh, knowing that my conversation with Lulu is at its end. Sure, I could ask why nobody knows what happened to mom—after all, apparently she's famous so someone has to know, right? But I don't and just let Lulu have her quiet moment.

"I have a few nice thoughts," Yuna says quietly, intending for only me to hear, "Father died to protect me and I breathe every breath, knowing that he's with me in them. I live because of him."

'_But for how much longer_?' I think but banish the thought away.

I smile at her and the moment is past now that Wakka and Tidus have joined us again. With Kimahri out of sight and Lulu a few landings above us, we continue up the stairs, finishing the ascent to the temple and when we finally do, we pause and take in our surroundings.

The temple is at the top of the hill (mountain?) and overlooks every part of the island and the town. Even from here we can see the destruction of the village and turning towards the temple, we see that most of the villagers have gathered here to pray. The temple carved out of stone—probably unique to the island and filled with torches, pits of fire and boasts a lot of red. It's beautiful really and kind of looks like a Dali painting.

We walk through the courtyard of the temple and as we approach the entrance for inside, a small group wearing the same uniform exit and walk straight up to Wakka and the Aurochs. They walk with swagger and arrogance and I quirk an eyebrow. My lips tug at the sight of them and I try very hard not to laugh.

"You here to pray for victory?" Wakka asks them with good nature.

"Us? _Pray_ for victory?" The leader sneers. He has auburn colored hair pulled back in a small ponytail and his voice is as arrogant as his gait. "Who needs to pray? The Luca Goers _always_ win."

Well that's not cocky at all…

"Oh yea?" Wakka asks, "then why you here?"

"We're praying for some competition this year," the leader says. He then smiles—a wicked thing that more of a sneer. "So what's your goal this year? You gonna _do your best_. Ha! It's too bad your best isn't good enough—why even bother showing up?"

"This time we play to win!"

Tidus stands out from the rest of the Aurochs and the Luca Goers immediately zero in on him. Obviously Tidus doesn't care because he's standing there with a cocky grin on his face—much like the Luce Goers' but no so conceited. The other Aurochs pump their fists in enthusiasm to Tidus' words.

"Oh, play away," the Luce Goer leader jeers, just as he begins to walk away, "just remember—even kids can play boys."

"See you in the finals!" Of course Wakka is ever optimistic.

Everyone, seeing that the confrontation has ended, begins to move indoors and though Tidus scoffs and kicks the ground. "We'll beat them, we have to." He seems upset and Yuna takes a step towards him, asking if he knows that team but Tidus doesn't appear to hear her. "Booting people down—they're as bad as my old man."

Tidus' words bring me to my own father and his verbal abuse and neglect. Sure it could be worse, I know, but I close my eyes and his voice echoes through my head, telling me that I'm not good enough, that I'm a waste. But I force my eyes open again, forcing the voice into the depths of my memory just as Yuna scolds Tidus for saying that about his father.

"Well then they're as bad as my dad," I say quickly and they turn to look at me. Yuna's eyes are wide in concern and Tidus seems to bear some understanding. But I shake my head and turn away, going into the temple.

* * *

Inside the temple, it's cool and filled with torches that dry the air. It smells like delicious firewood and the song I heard in Besaid is resounding throughout the temple and the fires from the torches seem to dance in time with it.

The Aurochs and Yuna pray, as does Lulu though Tidus and I stand off to the side and watch. I don't know why he's not praying and I don't ask—it's not really my business and besides, I'm not praying either.

"A Summoner are you?"

We all look up then, at the top of the stairs where a woman is standing. She has dark skin and dark hair and is wearing an interesting dress to say the least. It's threaded over her body and is tied back with a large bow. Behind her is a shirtless man who's buffed up and…well, he doesn't look too bright.

I roll my eyes, not really caring about them and go back to watching everyone pray—not that it's any more interesting. Yuna though turns towards the woman, a spark in her eyes that I suppose is recognition.

"I am Yuna, from the Isle of Besaid." She said those same words when she first came to _this_ island.

The woman looks at Yuna with amusement in her eyes though I can see it's only mocking. "Dona. So I guess you're High Summoner Braska's daughter; that's quite a name to live up to." She pauses and takes us all in, her eyes landing on each and every one of us and once again, I quirk an eyebrow, wondering if she is serious. "My, my, my and all these _people_ you travel with, what a rabble."

What?

I look past her as the man she's with starts posing, flexing his arms and staring at them in admiration. Are you serious…

"As I recall Lord Braska had only two Guardians—quality over quantity my dear, whatever were you thinking? I have need for only one Guardian, right Barthello?" She glances back at the man behind her, almost adoringly and I want to throw up all over her, anything to get her to shut up.

Kimahri seems to be along the same lines of thinking as I am and takes a menacing step towards Barthello and glares down on him.

"I only have as many Guardians as there are people I can trust," Yuna says smoothly, stepping up to Dona. Wakka and Tidus stop praying then and look back, sensing something. "I trust them _all _with my life. To have so many Guardians is an honor and a joy, even more so than being my father's daughter." Yuna pauses for a moment and regards Dona with a quick eye. "Of course, I would never think of questioning your way either and so Lady Dona I ask you: please leave us in peace."

Dona narrows her eyes as Yuna and the rest of us before scoffing. "Hmpf, you do what you want. Barthello—we're leaving." Throwing one last look at us, she turns on her heel and leaves the temple.

"Heh, maybe Barthello can get rid of that stick up her ass…" I mumble to myself, "and then use it to deflate that stupid ego of his…" Tidus snickers beside me and Wakka elbows him to make him be quiet. Yuna gives a great sigh of relief, I suppose because Dona's gone, and turns to us with a smile.

"Let's go to the trials, shall we?"

There are nods of consent and we all head up the stairs. I curse the temple for having even _more_ stairs…

We go through a large stone doorway and enter a long and narrow corridor that leads to another elevator, similar to the one in Besaid but with a different engraving.

"The Fayth is below, let's do this!" Of course Wakka's excited.

And of course Lulu is the first to bash it. "But first the trials. Wakka, Kimahri, Mandy—are you ready." We nod and crowd onto the elevator with Tidus being the last. As soon as he's on though, Kimahri pushes him off and I snort in laughter.

"Aww too bad," I coo at him as the elevator lurches and starts moving downwards, "maybe you should become a Guardian first."

"We'll be back soon!" Yuna shouts up at him and gives a giggle.

* * *

I hate trials. Like really, I do. I look down at my boots and glare at the burnt spot on the right one. Of course this temple has fire, of course. You know, with it being situated on a _really_ hot island with lots of fiery torches, I should have seen it coming but I didn't—and now my boots are burned. Next it's gonna be my hair…

"I can't figure this out!" Wakka says in frustration. "I've been here twice already and I always forget. You too Lu, why don't you know?"

"It was a long time ago…"

Oh and you'd think that the all knowing stoic of the group would be more help but no, she just has a poor memory with some things…

"Look," I say slowly. "I think you need to push that pedestal over there, on top of the shiny thing—every puzzle, every trial ends with something shiny and glowy. It wouldn't hurt to try."

Poor Yuna just stands there, utterly helpless and confused as her Guardians can't figure out what to do. "I think we should try Wakka."

Grumbling, Wakka walks over and pushes the pedestal onto the blinking, shiny thing in the floor. It gives a grumble and descends to the floor below, out of sight. We walk to the edge of the platform we're on and peer over the edge. Where the pedestal disappeared is a new sphere, red and glowing.

"Awesome," I say in frustration. "Let's use that sphere to open the door there."

Everyone nods and does as was instructed and the flaming doorway disappear to reveal…more stairs. I face palm but no one takes notice—I think they're just happy to finally be done with the trials. So I follow, ignoring the stairs and eventually we enter the chamber of the Fayth—or rather, the place where we Guardians get to wait as Yuna does her thing.

With a prayer to us, Yuna turns and enters the chamber. The shield blocking the doorway shutters and allows her entrance before falling down again, blocking us from following her.

"Well this is nice," I say when I sit down. Kimahri stands by the door, never taking his eyes off of it. Lulu and Wakka stand off to the side and seem to relax now that their charge is safe inside the chamber.

The chamber is a medium sized room, dimly lit and with an air of intimacy—friendship really. Large stone lanterns flicker with flames and at the sight of them, I tap my boot, wishing the burn would come off.

"How long are we gonna be here?" I ask.

"Who knows…" is Wakka's simple answer.

I remember then, back on Besaid when the temple priest mentioned something about it being a day. My eyes widen. "It won't take another _day_ will it?"

Wakka's eyes look worried as he looks at me. "Sure hope not—the tournament's in a few days, we don't have much time."

"Besides," Lulu chimes in, "it's usually easier for the Summoners to obtain Aeons after they get the first."

I nod, hoping they're right. "Well," I say, lowering myself to the floor. "Wake me up if/when something happens."

"Hey! You can't sleep now—this is important!" Wakka yells at me when I shut my eyes. I crack one open and sigh.

"I'm not actually sleeping. Just thinking."

He seems to accept that and lets me get back to it. I close my eye again and listen to the crackling of the wood in the torches, finally allowing me to relax.

* * *

"Woah, woah, woah!"

What seems like hours later, I open my eyes again and see Tidus.

…Wait, what?

Tidus scratches his hand and looks annoyed. "It was Dona and that big muscle head."

I blink and stand up, brushing off my skirts. "They made you come down here?"

Tidus nods and Lulu crosses her arms and shakes her head. "It will be Yuna who will suffer the consequences."

"What consequences?" Tidus asks.

"She could be excommunicated."

"Wait what?" I say, "isn't that a little harsh for something so minor?"

"Not to the ones capable of doing it," Lulu says sternly. "Especially with that stunt you both pulled in Besaid on her record. Dona is another Summoner on the same road as Yuna and searching for her own glory—she probably did this on purpose. Let's hope it doesn't come to this…"

"Right…" I say and slump back onto the ground, keeping that dig at Tidus and I in mind.

Tidus doesn't say anything and instead just sighs before letting out a sound of remembrance. He walks up to Kimahri and hesitated before giving him something. "I found this in the trials—it looks like it could fit you."

It's an armlet that looks like the one Kimahri is already wearing except that it's red. Kimahri regards it for a moment before slipping it on, nodding at Tidus briefly and going back to his door watching duty. Not knowing what to do now, Tidus looks around and meets me eye. I shrug, silently telling him that there's nothing to do.

"Try to relax," Wakka says as he sees Tidus. Tidus sighs and rocks slightly and I want to laugh at Wakka for telling Tidus to relax when it's kind of impossible.

"So what's in there anyway?" Tidus asks after a few minutes of silence.

I see Lulu open her mouth to say something but Wakka beats her. "The Fayth, remember?"

"The Fayth," Lulu cuts in, arms crossed, "are people who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls from their still living bodies, willingly given. Now, they live forever, trapped in statues. But when a Summoner beckons, the souls of the Fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an Aeon."

These people are crazy. Sacrificing themselves while still alive? Yea, that would never fly where I come from…

"So what does Yuna have to do with them?" I ask, keeping my thoughts to myself.

"She prays with all her might for a way to defeat Sin. If the Aeon accepts, the two join together."

"How nice…"

"You don't seem very supportive," I look up and see everyone with the exception of Kimahri looking at me.

"It's not that," I reply while playing with the hem of my skirts, "this is just new to me and I'm not sure what to do."

Wakka and Lulu nod and Tidus stares at me for another moment and then everything falls silent. I don't know how much longer we're there but finally, the shield blocking the chamber thunders open and Yuna walks out, tired and weary—kind of like at Besaid. Kimahri and Lulu help support her and with a few words, we make our way of the chamber and head towards the town.

* * *

Thanks for reading! And please review, tell me what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

I'm sitting on the desk of the ship taking us to Luca, playing with my old camera. I want to know if it'll still work but I'm afraid to take a picture and find out. I don't want to be disappointed. While my hands are busy with the camera, my mind drifts back to the day before, when we were leaving the temple and Tidus was suddenly overcome by his thoughts.

"_What do you want to do_?" That was what Yuna asked him.

"_To scream real loud_," was his reply.

I smiled to myself then, thinking yes, that I was what I wanted to do too. Tidus surprised me though; he brought his head back and let out a loud scream that lasted for a few seconds, causing everything to turn to him, startled.

'_Congratulations_,_ Tidus_,' I think to myself, '_you let yourself do the one I won't let myself.'_

Just like I'm afraid to test my camera, I'm afraid to let my guard down—I don't want my thoughts and feelings to overcome me.

I sigh and look around me. It's late and everyone is down bellow—either sleeping or chatting quietly amongst themselves. Up here it's quiet and the waters are calm, something I'm grateful for after the last ship. The air is cool too—moist obviously but cool to the touch and I close my eyes briefly, enjoying it before going back to staring at my camera.

My mind also thinks back to the conversation Tidus and I overheard earlier, between Lulu and Wakka—they talked of Tidus and being Yuna's Guardian…and of our parents.

"_Tidus hates his father_?"

"_Yes, Yuna told me as much. But as for Mandy…it's uncertain how she feels about her mother though Yuna suspects she's curious_…"

Damn right I'm curious. But Tidus clamped his hand over my mouth, keeping me from saying anything and I pulled away from him, going down to the cabin I shared with Lulu and Yuna and grabbed my camera, and brought it up here.

Wakka and Lulu were gone when I came back up and I saw Tidus and Yuna talking—I think about Zanarkand though I'm not sure. I wasn't in the mood for overhearing any more conversations so I moved to the shaded overlook where Lulu and Wakka were earlier.

Down below, I hear some boots on the deck and I look out and see Tidus running toward the bow of the ship but stopped in front of a blue ball. I bring my camera up to my eye, zooming in with the lens to get a better look and recognize the ball as being a Blitzball. Tidus stands over it, shoulders tense and I watch him curiously, before he places a foot on it and stares at it for some minutes. I'm about to put my camera down, wanting to spy out something different before he makes a move.

He kicks the ball hard to the very front of the bow and it bounces back to him—he just kicks it again, making it hit the front again and then one more time he does it. And then, using the time that it takes for it to come back to him, he jumps up and spins his body, building up momentum and whacks the ball as hard as he can and sends it flying into the sea and out of sight.

I blink into my viewfinder, unsure of what I saw and pretty much amazed.

I'm not the only one though and, when I put my camera down, I see the rest of the Aurochs—Wakka included—standing around Tidus, awestruck and staring at him like he's the best thing since sliced bread.

It's hard to hear what they're saying but it's obvious that Wakka is impressed and asks him to demonstrate the move again which Tidus gladly does and somehow even manages to be even more graceful about it. When he's done, he walks over to where Yuna is standing and smiles at her. They move away from the other Blitzers who are now practicing Tidus' move and I can hear them.

"That was the Jecht Shot, wasn't it?" Yuna asks with a smile.

Tidus' mouth drops and he stares at her for a second before turning away, becoming serious. "How do you know that?"

Yuna gives a little giggle. "Sir Jecht showed it to me when I was a child. He called the…Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark Three." It's obvious she's trying not to crack up at the name.

Tidus says something in response, something about it being a stupid though I want to disagree with him. Clearly it's the best. But I don't say anything and instead scoot closer to the edge of the overlook and raise my camera again, focusing the lens on the two and when Tidus steals a look at Yuna's smiling face, I press the shutter release. The flash goes off and the film inside the camera winds itself and Tidus and Yuna look up.

"Oh, hey guys…" I wave at them awkwardly and, not knowing what else to do, lower my camera and move down the stairs of the overlook, joining them by the rail.

"What's that?" Yuna asks, pointing to my camera.

"Oh…nothing, just my camera—it might be broken though. Please, don't let me interrupt your conversation." Though I clearly just did. "So why isn't there a Mark One or Two?"

Tidus rolls his eyes, set off again by the slight mention of his father. He doesn't even accuse me of eavesdropping, neither does Yuna.

"My old man said that word 'three' was just a way to hook the crowd, keep them coming back for more." Tidus says and then drops his voice, letting his memories take him away again. "I used to…get so mad." But Yuna gives another giggle and Tidus looks up. "Do you think he's alive?"

The humor drifts out of Yuna but only slightly as her face turns serious. "I don't know."

I sigh and shake my head. "How can you not know? It's my mom too…"

"Well," Yuna adds quickly, "they were both my father's Guardian and if anything were to happen to them, I would think that word would get around fast."

"Wait," Tidus says quickly, just as fast as Yuna, "are you saying my old man's famous here too?" Yuna gives a solemn nod and he groans in frustration. "Dammit."

Yuna hesitates, looking at both Tidus and I before quietly asking "what…would you do if you found them?"

Tidus and I respond instantaneously, in unison. "Hit 'em."

Throwing a look at Tidus, I elaborate. "Dad's not the greatest guy and we knew that, mom was my best ally. But then…I don't know, one day she was just gone—we thought she left and I was so…" I pause, my throat tight as I try and come up with a word for how I felt, "angry. I thought she left without me and then we got a call saying she was dead. But now she's alive? Or there's a chance she could be?" I rub hands through my hair, pulling at it slightly. "So she really did just leave…"

"It's the same with me," Tidus says quietly. Poor Yuna looks between us, unsure of what to say as we say what we meant to say a while ago. "My old man—everything that he put mom and me through. Because he was always so famous, we were like in his shadow—well wait, you should know Yuna, your dad was famous too—wasn't it tough?"

Yuna stands with her arms behind her back, smiling a moment and then sighs. "It is tough, following my father's footsteps as a Summoner—but the honor of having him as a father surpasses all of that, I think."

"There wasn't any honor in my old man; I'm guessing I could say the same about yours, right Mandy?"

I snort. "Honor, my dad? No, there isn't any."

"You shouldn't say that about your fathers!" Yuna is put off by this statement. But from what I can tell, her dad was actually nice—he just left her…

"We got the right!" Tidus defends.

Yuna bows her head in defeat and nods. "I suppose you do…"

It's silent for a few moments and I then I smile and a giggle escapes my lips. Yuna and Tidus stare at me, wondering what was up.

"How is it," I asked, trying not to burst into laughter, "that we all manage to have daddy issues? Like really, what are the odds?" They look between themselves, unsure of how to respond to this. Finally, I ask the question that I've been holding in, unable to voice it. "How did she get here?"

Yuna thinks for a moment, her hand resting on her chin ever so slightly in thought. Finally she lowers it and shakes her head. "I do not know." My eyes leave hers as my chest deflates. "But…I do know that one day she was just here, outside of our house and confused of where she was. My father believed it was fate that she was there because he had just found Jecht. He asked her to join him that day."

"And then she disappeared," I say, "awesome…"

"You know," Yuna says in her hopeful voice, "there's still hope that she's out there. Maybe…maybe she's back at your home now, waiting for you."

The thought of mom being at home without me angers me for some reason and I shake my head. "Well then that's just my luck seeing as I'm here…"

"Well then, we shall have to find a way back for you then, won't we?"

I nod though for some reason…a thought emerges that I had long since put away. What if I can't get home? My eyes harden and inwardly I shake my head. No, I'll find a way. Eventually, once I know more, I'll find a way.

Just then a Blitzball comes whizzing over and hits Tidus in the head. Looking at his pained expression and hearing the laughter coming from the rest of the Aurochs, I can't help it. Laughter spills out of my mouth but I try and cover it quickly when Tidus gives me a look. I'm spared from giving sympathy though when Wakka calls over, demanding to be shown Tidus' move again. With a quick glance at Yuna, he obliges and runs over to the Aurochs.

Yuna watches Tidus and the Aurochs with a smile tugging at her lips. Looking over at them, I pushed whatever lingering thoughts I have of mom and try to figure out just what the hell they would need these moves for. Nothing came to mind.

"Yuna," I ask, "how is Blitzball played?"

She turns to me with questioning eyes. "You mean you don't know?" I shake my head and a mysterious smile forms on her face. "Well then, I supposed you'll just have to find out when we get to Luca."

'_Oh come on_,' I think, annoyed that they weren't telling me anything. But whatever, I guess it just curiosity and not actually important.

We watch Tidus and the guys practice a bit more before Kimahri silently approaches Yuna and gives her a look. She sighs.

"It's getting late, I should sleep." She says. She does sound tired. "You'll come down too soon, yes?"

"Uh…yea, I guess."

With a smile, she bids me good night and calls out a similar one to the Aurochs. Tidus stops what he's doing to give an awkward wave, a smile playing at his lips as he watches her descend into the lower deck.

I pull myself up on the rail of the deck, making sure not to drop my camera and watch the Aurochs. I banish all thoughts of mom from my head and concentrate on them. I try to figure out what they're doing and in my mind I come up with some pretty fantastic images on how the game is played. I refuse to think about mom, not until I come up with the courage to find out more about her time here.

Finally, the Aurochs decide it's time to head to bed. They all say good night and as he's walking to the stairs, Tidus notices me still sitting on the rail. He walks over to me and sits with me.

"You know, I can't figure it out," I say and he gives me a grunt to show me he's paying attention. "How the hell do you play Blitzball? Not even Yuna will tell me."

"Well then why should _I_ tell you? Maybe it's more fun to wait and find out."

"I hate waiting and finding out."

"Well you seem to be doing a good job with it with other things." I look over at him, confused of what he was talking about. "I mean, I'm not doing any better—maybe its best not to know."

Oh.

"It's so weird—like, it's our parents, you know?" I shake my head. "Duh, of course you know. But still, I keep asking but at the same time…I'm holding back."

"Do you think they'll be in Luca, like Wakka thinks?"

I hadn't thought of that. Obviously, from the way that people keep talking about it, Luca is a big city; anyone could be there. But somehow…"no, I don't think they will. Call it a feeling."

Tidus nods and then lets out a laugh, shaking his head. "I can't believe you don't know how to play Blitzball—are you sure _you're_ from Zanarkand?"

"I thought I said once that I'm not." I jump off the rail and yawn. "I don't want to talk about it now, I'm going to bed."

"Wait," Tidus says while also jumping off the rail. "If you're not from Zanarkand then why were you there that day?"

I know what day he's talking about but really, "I don't want to talk about." If I do, I'll think and if I think, I won't be able to sleep.

I begin walking away, ignoring his voice as he questions me further and I ignore my own thoughts as they begin to pop up all over again. No, I will not think about it.

But I did, and sleep took a while to come.

* * *

The next morning was in chaos. Not the 'oh my God, a giant monster is attacking' kind of chaos but more of the 'we're about to dock' kind.

We passengers were served a cold breakfast of oatmeal and bread and I managed to snag an equally cold shower. I didn't care though; a shower is a shower. After I gathered my things and put everything in order, I joined the rest of the group on deck, awaiting our arrival at Luca.

On the shaded over hang, I watch with Lulu and Yuna as the coast of Luca grows bigger and bigger as we draw closer. When we finally reach the outer docks, I go down to the main deck and lean onto the rope railings with Tidus and look everywhere we can.

It's amazing. In the distance we can hear various announcements, vendors calling out to potential customers. There are fishing docks and boats, houses wrapped with nets and other wares of the fishing industry. People were everywhere, all wearing bright colors and all around the shops are brightly colored decorations.

It strikes me then that this is the happiest place I'd seen in Spira. In contrast with Kilika, this is a celebration. I can see people smiling and kids playing. Seeing this, in combination with the cheerful sun and cool sea air, I smile.

As we approach an empty dock, Wakka calls out to Tidus and I and we turn away and line up with the group as we wait to disembark. All around us, people are excited to finally be on land and, most important, join in with the festivities.

When the boat finally docks, we file down the plank. In front of us I can see a small group of people holding weird looking cameras and in distance, I hear an announcer informing everyone who is listening of the arrivals of Blitzball players. It takes me a moment to realize that he means our ship. Looking wearily at the camera, I make my way off the plank and wait for everyone else.

The team from Kilika waves and cheers with the crowd as they're spot lighted and I hear the announcers say something about the destruction of their town. I snort with how they just brush by it like it's nothing. If only they had been there…

Wakka comes to the plank though and suddenly the atmosphere seems to change dramatically. People all around are shaking their heads, some even turning away. The announcer seems to almost be mocking him and his team as they descend the plank.

"I've never seen a team this bad!" The announcer says and I shake my head, feeling angry at him. Sure, I may not know what Blitzball is but they're my friends. How stupid…

The camera barely stays on the Aurochs before the next team shows up on the plank: the Luca Goers. I remember them from the Kilika temple and how idiotic they were. I roll my eyes as the crowd cheers loudly and the announcers shower them with praise. Their captain laps up the attention and honestly, I want to smack him.

When the announcers are finally done feeding their egos, the cameras focus on them for a few more seconds before moving on. I spot the group over by a large pile of cargo and make my way over to them. As I do, I brush past the Goers and the Captain spots me.

"Hey, you're from the temple, Lady Yuna's Guardian right?" His voice is arrogant and I cock an eyebrow at him, looking him up and down. He doesn't let me answer. "If you wanna hang out with some _real_ Blitzers, you're welcome to join me."

I can't help it. Laughter spills from my mouth and I cover my mouth, trying to hide it. He looks at me with an expectant smile and I give him an innocent one when I recover. "Only if I'm allowed to kick _your_ balls." His smile drops as he realizes what I mean and I glare at him. "I may not understand what Blitzball is but I know what it involves. Insult my friends again and I'll make sure you never play again. Kay?"

Without waiting for a response, I brush past him and leave him gapping with the rest of his team. When I finally reach the others, Tidus gives me a suspicious look. I notice he's holding a strange megaphone looking thing and Wakka is looking a bit embarrassed. Oh boy, what did he do now?

"Hey," Tidus says, "what were you doing with the Goers?"

"Nothing," I say casually, "just trying to keep the peace." I eye the megaphone. "What are _you_ doing?"

Tidus opens his mouth but Wakka beats him to it and snatches the megaphone away. "He just made a fool of himself, that's what! What in Yevon's name were you thinking!?"

"You said something stupid?" I guessed, a smile forming.

Wakka shakes his head and Tidus looks defiant. "No, I just put the Goers in their place."

I laugh. "Well then that makes two of us."

"I don't wanna know…" Wakka mutters as Yuna and the rest of the group walk up. Yuna looks excited.

"Maester Mika is here! I didn't think it would be so soon but they say he just arrived on dock three."

Tidus and I are confused but everyone around us are noticeably more excited and some even race past us, running toward something that I guess is important.

"What's up now?" Tidus asks, obviously tired of more stuff he doesn't understand. Honestly at this point I'm used to it.

"Maester Mika is the leader of all the people of Spira," Lulu answers. "He's come all the way from Bevelle. The tournament is being held for him to celebrate his fifty years as Maester."

"_Fifty_ years?" Tidus asks, surprised at this. "Shouldn't he be, like, retired or something?"

Wakka gives Tidus a shove, telling him to watch his mouth just as Yuna says, "Let's all go see him!"

There are nods of agreement and I just shrug my shoulders, not really knowing what I can do and start to follow everyone. I think Tidus is dreading having to learning something else new in this world but I can also tell he's curious about what's happening. Everyone else looks excited. Well, except Kimahri but who knows what he's thinking…

It's hard getting to the dock. Everywhere is packed with people and they're all pushing and shoving, trying to be the first to see the old world leader. When we finally get to dock three, I can see through the crowd a huge ship with sails that have designs on them—designs that I've seen before in temples. The sign of Yevon or something.

Suddenly, in the midst of all of this, there's a burst of music and the crowd goes silent, eagerly awaiting their leader. I guess it's a big moment; it's the first time I've ever seen a world leader of any kind but still…he's not my leader.

The crowd parts then, making a path from the plank of the ship to the dock and I see a strange looking man with what looks like a blue robe…dress, thing tied around his waist. His _blue_ hair is separated into three long sections and one hangs out in front of his face. From where I'm standing, I see the vague outline of blue veins across his body. I can't help but feel weirded out by him. Plus…

"Wait," I say, looking up at Lulu, "isn't he supposed to be, like, old? He looks like he's your age."

She's not paying attention though and absentmindedly shushes me, her eyes still on the ship. I turn my gaze back towards it too and see the blue man kneeling, performing the prayer as a very aged man comes to the plank and looks down on everyone. Around me, people give him the prayer but Tidus and I seemed to have missed the cue and we just stand there looking awkward.

The aged man walks down the plank, nearing the guy in blue. He's probably the oldest man I've ever seen with his white hair and many wrinkles. He has colorful robes that match the designs on the ship's sails and I figure that now's the time to prayer. Awkwardly, I fall into step with it.

"People of Spira," I hear him say in a wavering old voice, "I thank you for your generous welcome. Rise Maester Seymour—and all of you as well."

We do rise and I see that the old man is now smiling solemnly. "I present to you Maester Seymour, the son of Maester Jyschal who departed for the Farplane a fortnight past. As some of you already know, he has been officially ordained a Maester of Yevon."

The man in blue, Seymour, faces the crowd and again, I see the blue veins on his face and am completely weirded out.

"I am Seymour Guado," he says smoothly, "I am honored to receive the title of Maester and, as my father before me, I shall work to foster friendship between Guado and Man. I vow this and to also fulfill my duties as Maester to the best of my abilities."

Guado? What the heck is a Guado?

Before I can ask this though, Wakka pushes Tidus and me slightly. "You two, bow your heads."

"Hey," I say, "I am—bug this guy." I glare playfully at Tidus and he rolls his eyes.

Yuna giggles and turns to look back at Seymour. I do too and see that he's looking at Yuna rather intensely. She freezes and can only stare back—I guess because she's star struck or something. I nudge her side.

"Hey Yuna, you OK?"

She gives a slight gasp and blinks. "Oh! Yes, I'm sorry." And then she turns her gaze downward.

"Hey!" Wakka says loudly, bringing attention to him. "Last meeting before the match, let's hustle!"

The group all start to leave the dock, I guess to go to the stadium or something—maybe practice. Yuna still stands in her spot though as Kimahri keeps a watchful eye on her.

"We should probably go with them," I say to her, "we don't want to fall behind, especially in a place this big."

Yuna gives a nod and smiles at me. "Yes, you're right." And without another word, she turns and follows everyone, Kimahri following her.

I watch her leave and then turn back to where Seymour is still standing with the old man; I guess he's Maester Mika. Just when I do, Seymour looks up and catches me eyes. A look of…surprise? Yes, surprise flashes through his eyes before he looks away and I blink before turning away. Weird…

* * *

When I finally find the Aurochs, they're sitting in a locker room. When I walk in, it's like hitting a wall of tension and the atmosphere is almost crushing. They all look up expectantly before sighing and looking away.

I blink at this. "What's up?" Looking around the room, I notice a few people are missing. "Where's Tidus and everyone?" How did I manage to miss them?

"Dunno," one of them says, "we're waiting for Captain Wakka."

"Oh," I say just as the door opens and Tidus walks in. Again, the Aurochs look up expectantly but deflate when they see Tidus.

"Where's Wakka," he asks while looking around.

"At the match up draws," the same Auroch who spoke to me said, "we're hoping it's not the Goers we play against."

"We got matched with them last year and the year before that," another says.

"That sucks," I say lightly, actually feeling sorry for them having to play against those idiots.

The door creaks open then and Wakka steps through. We all turn to him and this time even I'm feeling the expectation building up when I see him. He has a confident smile and he raises his fist triumphantly.

"We're playing the Al Bhed Psyches first. If we win, we're in the finals!" The Aurochs' eyes all brighten as they realize what he's saying. "That's right, we got seated—two wins and we're da champions!"

There are cheers all around at this announcement and even Tidus looks pretty happy though I suspect that he just has a lot of inner confidence.

"First things first," Wakka says, quieting everyone, "anyone need to go over the basics, get into shape?"

Tidus laughs at this. "Please, we don't need to go over anything; we got this in the bag."

There are nods and grunts around the room as everyone agrees to what Tidus says. I shake my head at my lost opportunity to find out everything I'll need to know about the game. I could ask but…it doesn't matter. I probably won't understand the sports talk anyway.

Nodding, Wakka looks at the clock on the wall. It's early in the afternoon and I suspect the first match will be starting shortly. "Well," he says, "let's at least stretch, warm up our muscles."

Everyone agrees and soon the Aurochs are on the floor, stretching their legs or doing other various exercises. Tidus just sits on a bench and yawns. I wonder where Yuna and Lulu are…

Just then though, the creaks open again and everyone looks over and sees Yuna and Lulu. Yuna walks up to Tidus and then looks at me. "There you are! Someone says they saw Sir Auron in a café!"

Auron? The name sounds familiar and I shoot up from where I'm sitting when I realize why. I had forgotten about that bastard…

Tidus just stares up at Yuna. "Auron?"

Yuna nods. "Yes, Sir Auron—let's go find him! You too Mandy, let's go!"

I'm not too happy with him—I mean, he did drag Tidus and I to Spira so…

I think Tidus feels the same and sighs before standing up with joining Yuna. I give a great sigh too but I also stand and head for the door. It has to beat sitting around here at least…

"Hey! Hey hey!" Wakka calls out and we all turn back to him. "The first game starts like, real soon! But back real soon, ya?"

"Don't worry, we'll be back," Tidus says and then smiles. "Hey Wakka, you're looking a little tense—loosen up!" Wakka gives a few awkward grunts as he moves his body and tries not to be so tense. I try not to laugh when I see this.

Yuna ushers us out the door in her hurry to find Auron. Tidus laughs at this as Kimahri silently walks beside us.

"What's the big hurry—I mean besides the first match starting soon."

"Well," Yuna says quietly, as if contemplating something. "Perhaps now we can find Sir Jecht."

At the mention of Jecht, Tidus stops in his tracks and stares at Yuna. I do too because any mention of Tidus' dad could be a clue to finding my mom.

"What, my dad—how?" Tidus asks.

"Well Sir Auron was also my father's Guardian so he might know where Sir Jecht is," Yuna answers and then turns to me, "Lady Victoria too."

I nod slowly at this new prospect. If we find Auron, I might find more answers to mom. "Well what are we waiting for, let's go."

"That's the spirit!" Yuna laughs and grabs Tidus' hand and mine and drags us through the halls of the stadium, away from the locker room and up towards the light of the city. We don't even notice the two strange men leaning against the wall near us…

* * *

"So…a café, you say. There are, like, a million of those in cities…"

Luca's big—much bigger than any other part of Spira I've been in so far. I mean, sure, all I've seen is small villages but even where I'm from isn't this big. There are people everywhere, all talking about the tournament that's starting up soon.

Yuna laughs—she's much more cheerful than she was last night and in Kilika. "I don't know, I guess we'll start at the small ones. Auron is pretty private after all; perhaps he won't want to be seen…"

"Then why did he come to this huge city?" I ask dryly but Yuna just shrugs. Tidus is too lost in the big city to really be paying attention and Kimahri walks beside us, quiet as ever.

We're not too far from the stadium—it's still in view at least but I'm sure we're farther than Wakka wants us to be. But whatever, it's a new city and I want to see it. Something shiny catches my eye just then and I look over to see a vendor selling various kinds of weapons. On their display are a couple of smaller daggers—knives—smaller than my dagger but probably just as dangerous.

"Oh…" I say, spotting a few with few handles. I go over to the stall and Tidus, Yuna, and Kimahri follow me.

"We don't really have time…" Yuna mutters anxiously but I wave her off.

"I just want to look."

I smile at the vendor and pick up the knives, marveling at how small and light weight they are. I hear a grunt beside me and I turn to see Kimahri looking at them appreciatively. I ask the vendor how much they are and he tells me four hundred gil.

"That's a good price," Yuna says as she also looks them over. "They also carry a lethal poison in them too so anything you hit will be infected."

Well that's pretty cool. Still, four hundred gil…I wonder if I have it. Sighing, I dig around in my pouches and pull out a handful of coins. "Hey Yuna, help me count this out?" She nods and lo and behold, I end up having a little over six hundred total. I feel a little rich.

It feels strange buying my first weapon on my own. I feel more like a gangster or something than someone good, a Guardian. But whatever—they're shiny and sharp and apparently good stuff. I hand the money over to the vendor and soon I'm tucking the knives in my belt, happy with my new purchase. Now I just have to learn how to use them…

"Alright!" Yuna says when I'm done. "No more distractions, let's go."

Tidus and I have never seen her so excited before and we both laugh as she drags us and Kimahri away and towards what looks like a café.

Just then, a large group of people sweep up around us and I feel Yuna's hand slipping from my own as she's swallowed up by the wave of people. Tidus is still beside me and I look over at him while also trying to spot Yuna in the crowd.

"Where the heck did she go?"

"There she is," he says while pointing behind me. I look over and see her by some camera man and a woman with a microphone. Yuna waves at us with a smile on her face as she sees us. To my relief, as one of her Guardians, Kimahri is standing beside her. We shove through the crowd and finally reach her. She's still smiling at us when we do.

"You're…really famous here, aren't you?" Tidus says to her. She giggles.

"Not to be paranoid Yuna," I start, "but please don't let that happen again." Kimahri gives a grunt and I think he agrees with me.

"Hey! I know," Tidus shouts and we all look at him. He puts his fingers to his lips and gives a loud whistle. I raise an eyebrow and Yuna looks confused. "In Zanarkand we do that to cheer on Blitzers. If we get separated, just do that."

Yuna smiles and tries to copy him but the sound just comes out flat. Tidus then demonstrates again and I laugh as he awkwardly tries to explain what she needs to do. In the end though, he tells Yuna to practice and she nods, promising that she will. Finally we're ready to go into the café.

When we step inside, we see that there are not a lot of people. In fact, the café looks more like a bar than anything but Yuna still looks around, as if expecting that she'll spot a guy in a red jacket. I do too but I don't see anyone that fits Auron's description. With a sigh, Yuna takes a seat at a table near the door and, feeling a few stabs of hunger; I go to the bar and order a sandwich—the only food they really have. When I receive it, I walk over to Yuna's table and offer her some; she declines.

Tidus is going around, asking about Auron but as far as I can tell, no one seems to know. After finishing up the first half of my sandwich, I hear a commotion near the center of the café. Yuna and I look up and see Kimahri surrounded by two other large beings that resemble Kimahri.

"What are they?" I ask Yuna.

She has a grave look on her face as she watches Kimahri. "They're Ronso, the great warriors of the mountains. Kimahri…had a rough time in his youth…"

"And now they're giving him an equally rough time…" I shake my head, knowing I can't do anything. Even if I wanted to, I know that they can just throw me aside with their huge biceps.

There are gasps and I look over and see Tidus egging on Kimahri as he throws a swing at one of the Ronso. I facepalm, not believing that Tidus would do that. The barkeep though shouts at them, telling them to take it outside.

Yuna looks worried for Kimahri and I start to tell her that he'll be fine but all of a sudden, I can't talk. I grab for my throat, wondering where my voice is and I see Yuna doing the same thing. Suddenly, two hands grab my arms and pull me away from the table, the rest of my sandwich falling to the ground.

I try to resist and shout something out but the hands are too strong and my voice is still gone. I catch a glimpse of Yuna and see that she's doing the same thing but to no avail. I also catch a glimpse of our captors: Al Bhed by the looks of their outfits.

Figures…Tidus and I get captured by them when we first arrive in Spira and now here Yuna and I are; getting kidnapped by them…

* * *

A/N: Props to everyone who knows why Mandy and Yuna lose their voices. Also, in case some of you can't tell--I'm not a sports fan lol. In fact, writing next chapter is going to be _really_ hard because I'll have to make Mandy be excited and I can't even get myself excited for sports. Oh well...

So...sorry I've been away for so long. The last chapter kicked my butt for some reason and I lost some of my will to write this. It's back though, so that's good! I actually really missed writing this, it's such a release from writing other serious essay like stuff. Sorry for any typos/mistakes though, I do this all my own and don't have anyone to read it over for me. I do the best I can.

Tell me what you think! (That means leaving a review.) I really enjoy hearing what you guys have to say, even if I don't respond to the reviews (maybe I will now though), so don't be afraid to say something. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I don't own Final Fantasy. Just Mandy, she's cool.

Oh and sorry if this thing is riddled with spelling/grammar mistakes.

* * *

The Al Bhed take us through the city, to a dock farthest away from the Stadium. I try and struggle again, grab my dagger from my belt but they restrain my arms, keeping holding them behind my back. Whoever has me is strong—I try and free myself but their grip only tightens and soon I can't even feel my wrists.

When we get to the dock, there's a large steal ship waiting for us. It looks like the ship that Tidus and I stayed on when we first got to Spira. This time though, I go inside of it as our captors drag us through the large metal door on the deck.

They take us down some narrow corridors and then finally throw us in a small dark room. The door slams shut and the only light available to us shines through the small crack at the bottom of the door. Yuna and I sit in silence for a while—I'm not really sure for what. The blood rushes back to my wrists and I rub at them, hoping to help them. Finally, after what seems like hours of silence, I hear Yuna start rummaging through her sleeves.

I look over at her and with the small beam of light, I see her pull out a small vial, uncork it and drink it. Instantly I hear her sigh and I'm jealous when I realize that she has her voice back. I nudge her with my foot and I hear her pull out another vial and hand it to me. I do as she did and drink it, feeling the muscles in my throat loosen as I get my voice back.

"Those stupid bastards," is the first thing I say, angry with the Al Bhed for taking us. Yuna sighs.

"This is a little upsetting."

I look at her with a raised eyebrow though I'm sure she can't see it. "A _little_? Yuna, they just _kidnapped_ us, a little upsetting is a _little_ understatement."

"Well, yes but…"

"But what Yuna? Ugh, this happened—sort of—before when Tidus and I got to Spira; some Al Bhed found and took us. I'm beginning to not like them, personally."

"I know what some people think of the Al Bhed but still, it's upsetting because I too am Al Bhed. Well…half anyway."

I blink at this and instantly feel bad. "Really? Sorry—it's not you, it's them."

"No, I understand in this case…"

We sit in silence for a moment before I speak up again. "So…how are we going to get out of here?"

"Don't you think we should wait, for Kimahri and the others? They must notice us missing by now…"

"Well we're on a boat so I don't think it's very smart to wait. They left us untied so it's not like it'll be hard. Also, I have my dagger and everything." I get and go to the door and find the handle and pull. It doesn't budge. "Ugh, just kidding, the doors locked."

I hear Yuna giggle. "I suppose we'll just have to wait until the right moment then."

"I hate waiting…" I mumble as I sit down beside her. It's quiet again and I try to break the silence. "So…you're Al Bhed. Can you, like, speak their language?"

"Only a few words," I hear her reply. She sounds a little sad. "My mother started to teach me but she died before I was old enough to remember."

I nod though she can't see me. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, apologizes make everything more difficult," she says. "What about your mother—I've met her but again, I was very young."

I shrug and lean against the cool steel wall. I wish I could see better. "There's not much to say really. She sang to me and called me Manda-bear and hugged me when I was sad. I was five years old and she was perfect."

"You were young as well," Yuna simply says. "Yet, you may have a second chance with her, that must be nice."

"It's annoying," I reply quickly. "Frustrating and I'm surprised I'm not insane yet. Maybe I am insane—maybe this is all a dream or something. If she's alive and I meet her…oh man, she's got something coming to her."

"You would treat her the same as your father?"

"Well what else am I supposed to do? I mean, I seriously doubt I'm going to go flying her in her arms and everything is gonna be all hunky-dory." I say angrily. "I've accepted that you guys don't know anything about her…mostly. So when I _do_ meet her, I'm going to have a million questions. But first I have to find her…"

"Maybe Sir Auron will know where she is."

"Right…that was the reason why we went out to the café and got kidnapped. He better be worth the find after what he dragged Tidus and me into…"

"What do you mean?"

I start to open my mouth and tell Yuna what happened in Zanarkand when suddenly the ship gives a horrible lurch. Yuna and I both jerk forward and I almost hit my head on the steel floor. "What was that?" I ask when I recover.

"Either the ship is moving or someone found us. We better get ready."

She doesn't specify what to get ready for but I nod anyway even though she probably can't see. Not too long after though, I hear footsteps running outside the door and I grab my dagger, pulling it up beside me, feeling the hilt. There's some clicking outside the door but soon it slides open and when the Al Bhed steps through, I bring the hilt of my dagger down on his head just as Yuna smacks him across the stomach with her rod. I hadn't noticed she had it…

"You had that thing the whole time," I say nodding to her rod. "No offense, but these guys suck at kidnapping." She giggles and we then step over the now unconscious Al Bhed.

The corridor is empty and although we hear some shouts, they're distant. We mostly hear the whirring of machines and when we turn a corner, there's a machine with two claws that's clearly programmed to attack us. It beeps and then comes charging at us but Yuna, like before, swipes at it with her rod and smashes some gears together which jams one of the claws. I bring my foot up and kick it with my boot, also rendering it useless. With the machine unable to function correctly, it can't get to us and we jump around it, moving further down the corridor, trying to remember the way we came in.

"Why is this place totally empty?" I ask while keeping an eye out for anyone—or anything—else that comes along.

"This must be the Al Bhed Pysches' ship—they should all be in the match by now."

"What!" I shout, almost stopping in my tracks. "I'm missing my first game!"

"There'll be others," she says just as another Al Bhed steps around a corner. Behind him is a large door and outside I can hear something going on. I hear a deafening crash just as the ship gives another big lurch.

"Oui! Cdub nekrd drana!" The Al Bhed says before charging at us.

I spring into action and hit him with my hilt, causing him to fall forward and into Yuna's waiting staff. He falls to the ground unconscious and Yuna runs over to a switch panel and starts pressing buttons. I keep guard as she does and soon the large metal door groans and opens, revealing Lulu, Tidus, and Kimahri. They all look relieved when they see us and Yuna runs to Lulu who takes with open arms.

"I hope you hurt them," she says sternly though I can tell she's happy to have Yuna back.

"A little," Yuna giggles. "Mandy helped of course."

Tidus then comes up beside me and starts looking in through the door. I look at him questionably as he does and he sighs. "I was wondering if this was the same ship as the one before."

I shake my head no and Yuna turns to us, having heard what he said. "Mandy told me about when you first arrived here and I was wondering…was there a man named Cid on that ship?"

Tidus shrugs and looks at me causing me to do the same. "Not that I know—they were all speaking that Al Bhed language so…"

"I see…" Yuna says and casts her eyes downward. I remember something then.

"Relative of yours?"

She looks up again and smiles uncertainly. "Yes—he was my mother's brother."

"Wait! So that makes you Al Bhed," Tidus shouts, a little slow on the uptake and I roll my eyes.

Lulu then steps forward, eyes more serious than before and glares at us. "Don't tell Wakka of Yuna's lineage—he's never held much love for the Al Bhed."

But Tidus' eyes widen and he looks between them. "Woah! I gotta tell Wakka!"

I roll my eyes and smack the side of his head. "Stop being such an idiot, she just told you not to." He just glares at me.

"Speaking of Wakka," Yuna says quietly, "we should probably get to the game."

"Oh!" Lulu gasps as if suddenly remembering something, "the match!"

She raises her arm as she would if she were casting a spell and sends a flare up into the sky where it gleams in the sky like a beacon.

"What's that for?" I ask, staring up at it.

"Wakka," Lulu simply states before moving off the ship. We follow her as she leads us through the dock and into the city once more. "The Al Bhed Pyschs gave him a choice: they would free you and Yuna if he forfeited the game but if he won…in the end, it wasn't a hard choice to make."

We stop before a large monitor and stop walking. "So Wakka's going to lose the game?" I ask, feeling guilty for not being more alert.

Lulu simply gestures toward the monitor. "See for yourself."

I look up and notice a man floating in the middle of it: Wakka. He's not moving and he looks as if he's in pain. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's stalling the game, giving us time to rescue you and Yuna." She looks to the screen and scoffs. "Pathetic…if it were Chappu, he'd still be standing."

I blink and move my eyes away from the screen. "It's that being a little unfair? Wakka isn't Chappu, you know—they're two different people. I don't think Wakka wants to take his brother's place…" I start to say more but Lulu's hot glare shuts me up.

Just then, Yuna and Tidus start cheering. Lulu and I look over to them, wondering what they're so happy about.

"We did it! We're in the finals!" Yuna cheers happily while pointing to the screen. We look up and see a display of numbers, numbers showing the scores of the match just played. Aurochs 3, Al Bhed Pyschs 2.

"Sweet," I smile as we start making our way to the stadium. We pass people whispering about the Aurochs; I think they're in shock. "Let's try not to get kidnapped again, I wanna see this match."

Yuna and the rest laugh. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

When we enter the Aurochs' locker room, we find Wakka in a world of pain. It's forgotten when Yuna and I step through the door though.

"Lady Yuna, Lady Mandy—are you OK?" One of the Aurochs asks and I smile and nod though it's weird to hear some say 'Lady Mandy'.

Yuna takes a look around the locker room, at Wakka and her eyes sadden. "All of this…because of me. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

I roll my eyes, thinking of what Yuna said earlier about apologizing—of course she would forget.

Wakka gives a grunt and sit up on the bench slightly, eyeing Yuna and I. "How could you let some Al Bhed kidnap you?" His stare rests on me longer, silently reminding me that I'm taking his place as Guardian.

"They snuck up on us," I explain, getting his message, "and cast a silencing spell on us—we couldn't really do much about it. Just let it go, she's fine now." My words come out a little more defensive than I want but whatever.

The room is tense for a moment with everyone looking between Wakka and I. Finally, Wakka gives and grunt and falls back on the bench and I'm released from his stare. "Just don't let your guard down again—and don't get kidnapped by Al Bhed anymore, ya?"

"Yea, no problem," I mutter and go to sit on a bench. Ugh.

Yuna shoots me an apologetic glance before turning to Kimahri and saying something to him—he just nods in return and Yuna walks over to me."Let's go find some seats to watch the game from."

"Sounds good to me," I say and stand. I follow her and Kimahri out of the locker room and Yuna turns to me with that apologetic look again.

"I'm sorry about Wakka—sometimes he doesn't think before he speaks…"

I wave her off. "No, it's fine. I should have kept my guard up—I'm more annoyed with you."

She looks shocked. "Me?"

"Yea," I say looking at her sternly before breaking out in a smile. "'Apologizing makes everything more difficult', huh?"

Yuna looks sheepish and giggles slightly. "Oh well, of course sometimes it _is_ good to apologize, you know."

"Right," I say, rolling my eyes. "Whatever you say…"

The stadium is jammed pack with people all trying to get a good seat and talking about the game in excited voices. Most of them are talking about the Luca Goers—it's obvious they're the favorite of the match. Kimarhi leads us through the crowd just by his sheer size and we find seats near the top of the stadium. It's a perfect view of the giant water sphere that's in the middle of the stadium. It catches me off guard cause it's…a giant water sphere.

"They really play in that thing?" I ask, staring at it.

Yuna nods and smiles. "Yes, it takes a little training and dedication for the players to be able to hold their breath but it's really quite amazing."

I guess I should have expected it with, you know, all the water around and with Wakka and Tidus constantly swimming. Oh and Wakka floating on the monitor earlier. But I don't know, I guess with their training on the ship I didn't think much of the choice of field medium. Whatever, I'm not a blond by choice.

I look out at the crowd as the broadcasters start announcing the game. It's obvious that everyone is excited and that something big is about to happen—they're all cheering and the game hasn't even started. I look across the stadium and see, in the large box that's draped with Yevon symbols and tapestries, Seymour and Mika. Mika looks utterly bored while Seymour…I don't know, maybe it's the fact that I'm so far away but he looks like he's up to something.

_Now, now Mandy_, I think to myself, _just because he's dressed funny and looks like a creep, doesn't mean he actually is_…

A flash of red catches my eye and I quickly look over to the source but it's gone as fast as it came. Weird…

"And who would have imagined!" One of the broadcaster's voice cuts through my thoughts and brings out of my thoughts. "A championship game between these two teams—our legendary Luca Goers going against the horrendously ill-fated Besaid Aurochs."

"This looks like history in the making, Bobba," the other Broadcaster suggests.

"Damn right its history," I mutter under my breath, catching Yuna's attention. "Man at least where I come from the broadcasters still try and say something nice about a bad team. I mean, I don't watch sports but that's what it seems like to me."

"That must be nice," Yuna says with a wistful smile. "Maybe one day we can go there—and to Zanarkand as well."

I don't say anything at the thought of my home. The idea of Yuna and everyone being there is a little daunting—and impossible. I shouldn't have even brought it up…

I hear a clicking of heels and a huff and I look over to see Lulu has found us and is sitting beside Yuna. Kimahri takes a spot behind Yuna, blocking the people's view behind us but they don't say anything as they move somewhere else—he _is_ about three times their size so there's nothing they can do about it.

"What is it, Lulu?" I hear Yuna ask and I look over at Lulu. She does look frustrated and flushed.

"Nothing." She says firmly and just stares ahead at the sphere pool. "We leave after the game—Wakka is retiring and becoming a full time Guardian once more."

"It's finally happening…" Yuna whispers.

"I know," Lulu interrupts and then shakes her head. "First Chappu, now him…"

"Uh…maybe I'm missing something, but didn't you already know this?" I ask, completely confused.

Lulu doesn't say anything and instead shoots me a glare. My gaze instantly goes to Yuna; silently asking her what was going on.

"It's just that…with everything that Wakka has been through, it's finally going to be over," Yuna explains quietly.

"Let's just try and enjoy this for what it is," Lulu says in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Right…" I mutter while Yuna nods.

A burst of cheers erupts through the audience and I look over at the sphere pool and see the Aurochs and Goers entering on opposing sides. They take their stances—I recognize Tidus front and center kneeling on a platform that's floating in the center of the sphere. The captain of the Goers does the same but not before turning to his teammates and making rude gestures at the Aurochs with them.

"They're already going at it folks—the Goers are taunting the Aurochs!"

"Oh come on Tidus, trash talk them," I say and Yuna and Lulu give me strange looks and I realize that their underwater. I roll my eyes. "You know what I mean."

When the Goers finally settle down, there's a brief pause that I swear has everyone on the edge of their seats. A buzzer goes off and a ball—the same I've seen the Aurochs practice with—shoots up into the sphere pool and Tidus and the Goer-Guy jump up from their platforms and race towards it.

I realize, in that moment, that I'm finally seeing my first Blitzball game. I gasp when the Goer-Guy reaches the ball before Tidus and swims out of reach, shooting through the water at lightning speed. The other players race after him, some even slamming into him.

"Isn't that a foul or something?" I shout at Yuna over the cheering.

"They're just trying to get the ball," she explains loudly—I don't think I've ever heard her speak so loud. "Blitzball is about strength and endurance as well as speed."

I nod and shift my eyes back to the sphere. The broadcasters are going crazy, shouting out names of players as they swim and who has the ball and who doesn't. The Goer-Guy throws the ball hard at a teammate who fumbles it and is caught by a nearby Auroch. There are more boos than cheers as when he swims through the sphere, racing towards the goal and trying to avoid Goers.

He stops for a moment and then, just before the Goers can plow into him, he passes the ball to another player—Tidus. Tidus catches the ball with ease and then charges towards the goal and hurls it toward the holographic netting.

We watch with baited breath, on the edge of our seats, as the ball goes spiraling towards the netting—and then the Goalie catches it and throws it out towards one of his teammates. We give out sighs of disappointment. Tidus almost had him…

The game goes on for a while—a back and forth passing of the ball and slamming into other players to try and get a hand on it. There are a few close calls with the Goers getting the ball a little too close to the goal but the Aurochs' goalie manages to catch the ball just in time. He passes the ball to Tidus—or, if he's not open, to another Auroch. The Goers quickly realize this strategy and do their best to make sure Tidus isn't open for anything.

Over the course of the first half, the audience's cheering for the Aurochs increases and the energy of the stadium as changed greatly, especially when Tidus gets his hands on the ball and nears a goal—the Goers are almost ignored, almost booed, when they take the ball from Tidus and the Aurochs again. The audience realizes that the Aurochs are here to win and that they do have what it takes to do it. I saw it on Besaid and I see it here, now.

"This is so different from last year," Yuna whispers to herself and I'm amazed I can hear it over the cheers.

When the buzzer goes off, signaling half time, we're almost relieved. The Aurochs haven't scored yet but neither has the Goers—half time is an excuse for the Goers to not have the ball. But yet…

"Ugh, I wish half time didn't exist so someone could score already…" I mumble.

"At least the Goers don't have the ball," Yuna says optimistically.

I laugh. "I was just thinking that." Then I shift my eyes over to where the Aurochs entered the sphere pool at the start of the game. "I wonder if Wakka's going to play."

"If Wakka knows what's good for him," Lulu cuts in softly, "he'll rest and leave this one for the team."

"Yea but…" I say, "It's his last game—he has to play, especially since it's my first game. I travelled this far with him, he has to play."

"Oh! It _is_ your first game," Yuna says excitedly, "what do you think so far?"

"It's…" I search for the words before finally saying what I'm thinking, "it's really intense and damn, I wish I could do that." Yuna laughs and, looking over at Lulu, I swear there's a smile tugging at her lips.

Finally, cheers erupt throughout the stadium and the Aurochs and the Goers enter like before, taking their stances on the floating platforms. The buzzer goes off once more and the ball goes flying out, soaring over the heads of the players, only to be caught by an Auroch. Cheers sound as he whips off to the side, swimming away from the Goers and then launching the ball towards Tidus who catches it with the same ease as before.

We cheer and clap as Tidus bolts towards the goal but is stopped by two Goers. Without a moment's hesitation, Tidus launches the ball at one of them, hitting them on the head and disorienting them. The ball comes back to Tidus and he kicks it at the other player, doing the same thing. I recognize this move and I watch as Tidus finishes it the way it was meant to be seen as he spins, creating momentum and a whirlpool around himself before bringing his foot against the ball as hard as he can and shoots it towards the stunned goalie.

The buzzer sounds as the ball rushes past the goalie and hits the holographic net. Yuna and I are off our seats, cheering and laughing with the rest of the audience celebrate the first goal of the game—the first goal of the Aurochs. Tidus does a victory lap around the pool, waving at everyone. The players take their positions at the center of the pool and wait for the ball—the Goers get it when it comes out but the Aurochs are quickly in action, on a quest to get it for them.

Somewhere, in the midst of the game and the cheering, I hear someone say the name Wakka. And just like that, the energy of the stadium shifts once more as the audience whispers Wakka to each other. The whispers reach Yuna and me and we turn to Lulu who has an unreadable look. The audience realizes that Wakka is not among those playing and soon, the cheers seem to stop altogether as they start chanting and shouting Wakka's name.

The players in the pool seem to notice something's changed as they stop swimming and look around at the audience. I watch Tidus as he looks around and then leans back, floating on his back for a moment and then turn over and swim towards the entrance of the pool.

Yuna and I exchange glances as the broadcasters also announce their confusion. The cries for Wakka increase and when Tidus doesn't immediately return, I realize that's going on.

Sure enough, Wakka swims into the pool to a massive eruption of cheers and screams. The Aurochs huddle around him and it's obvious that they're excited by his being there.

I almost feel bad for Tidus—for giving up his spot in the game but at the same time, I see that it's Wakka's game, not his.

Immediately, the game resumes and it's clear that the Aurochs are playing their absolute best. Now, they're faster and more aggressive and watching them swim against the Goers in pursuit of the ball puts us on the edge of our seats.

Wakka is surprisingly fast and, when he slams into a Goers and takes the ball for his own, we jump to our feet as he races towards the goal and throws the ball as fast and hard as he can towards the net. We watch, breath caught in our lungs, as the ball sails toward the goalie—and goes through. A buzzer sounds throughout the stadium, signaling the end of the game.

The buzzer is loud—commanding and final. The stadium is slightly hushed as everyone digests what just happened but Yuna and I are on our feet, jumping up and down cheering. The Aurochs just won—the underdog came out on top and my first Blitzball game is a massive success.

I guess the stadium is done being shocked because soon Yuna and I are joined by their cheers—ours are drowned out pretty quickly. Even Lulu's smiling and clapping. And Yuna's the loudest and most excited I've seen her. And Kimahri—he has a slight smile and I laugh.

In the sphere pool, I see Tidus has come out again and is treading water before Wakka. They share a thumbs up just as I feel something _splat_ on my skirt. I blink and see a white liquid.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," I shout and look up, ready to throw a knife at the offending bird. What I see instead drains the blood from my face. "Oh shit—guys!"

Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri look up and immediately grab their weapons at the sight of the hundreds of flying fiends that are about to dive down on us. There are screams and I turn and see some water fiends have entered the sphere pool and are closing in on Tidus and Wakka.

I groan and roll my eyes. Of course this would happen…

People are panicking all around and getting up from their seats, hell bent on getting out with their lives and we turn to go with them but find that the stadium is full of land fiends which growl at us. The other stadium goers turn and flee the other direction but we stand there, weapons drawn, awaiting their attack.

"Lulu, why don't you get the flyers with your spells?" I suggest over the panic and uproar, "we can take care of the rest."

"Why don't you help me," Lulu replies calmly while flinging a thunder spell up at a flyer. It goes out in a flash of pyreflies. "I heard you have some new knives."

"What, do you want me to _throw_ them—oh shit," I quickly deflect a coyote type fiend with a slash of my dagger and face Lulu. "I don't exactly know how to do that."

Yuna whacks a fiend with her rod and comes over to us. "I'll stay with Lulu—I can summon. Mandy, you and Kimahri can go."

I look over at Kimahri and watch him as he spears a fiend and tosses it away effortlessly, moving onto the next. I nod quickly. "Yea, I can do that."

Another coyote-wolf-thing-fiend pounces at Kimahri but I run over and slam into, knocking it away. I roll across the ground of the stadium and hit my back against a bleacher, sending a shock of pain through my body. There's a growl beside me and I look over, half dazed, and see the fiend I attacked staring at me with blood thirsty eyes. Quickly, I reach for my dagger but don't find it—instead, I spot it a few feet away, knocked around by careless and panicked stadium goers.

Figures…

The fiend doesn't waste any time—it gets up, recovered from my knocking it over and jumps for me, its teeth flashing. Not knowing what else to do, I reach into a pouch and bring out small knife and flick it away as easily Lulu would a spell. It catches the fiend a little above its eyes and it falls over, disappearing in a cloud of pyreflies. My knife clatters to the ground and I snatch it before someone can kick it away.

When I get up, I can't see Kimahri anywhere—he probably went off to wreak havoc on some fiends somewhere else—but I grab my poor dagger and run in a random direction, ignoring the bruise that I'm sure is forming on my back.

Everyone is running, trying to get away from the danger that threatens them. I push past them, looking for Kimahri or anyone else familiar. Fiends jump at me but I knock them out of the way with my dagger, slicing whatever part of their bodies it hits. Kimahri is nowhere in sight, neither are Yuna and Lulu. A quick glance over at the sphere pool shows that Wakka and Tidus have managed to fight their way out of it.

I run up some stairs, taking them two at a time, and turn a corner. I skid to a halt when I see a huge freaking monster—a fire breathing thing that's probably five times the size of me, with skin as tough as stone. It sets its yellow eyes on me and I know I can't take it—coyote things are one thing, dragon monsters are totally different.

I'm about to turn and run the other way when I spot something behind me—something large and red, and with an even bigger sword. My mouth drops open and I almost loss grip of my dagger when I realize who he is.

"Auron?"

It figures he'd be here, now…

He looks past the large fiend in between us and spots me—he gives a small smirk and brings down his sword on the fiend, somehow cutting through its thick hide. It gives a wicked screech and falls over in a wash of pyreflies which Auron steps over. We stare at each other for a moment while people rush past us.

Auron looks the same—same red coat, same huge sword, and same glasses. He looks gruff and intimidating but I don't care. To me, he's the guy who stared everything and brought Tidus and I here—oh and he knows mom. Bastard.

"Hey!"

I'm ripped from my thoughts and Auron's stare at the sound of a familiar voice. Auron turns and I look past him and see Tidus and Wakka. They're still dripping wet from the sphere pool and panting. Tidus says something to Wakka and Wakka nods—I'm guessing that Wakka really does know Auron.

There's a gush of wind that blows my hair in my face and when I move it out of the way, I see a huge flyer fiend has targeted us. I look over at Wakka, Tidus, and Auron and see that they've taken fighting stances. Wakka throws his Blitzball at the thing and blinds it, allowing Tidus to dodge its attack. Auron and Tidus both take turns hacking at it with their swords and soon it's nothing but a cloud of pyreflies.

"This way," Auron shouts at us while running towards an empty part of the stadium—empty because there are fiends. Tidus and Wakka nod and follow him while I stare after them—after Auron.

I hear a growl behind me and I roll my eyes. I take out another knife from one of my pouches and send it flying at the fiend behind me. It falls with a yelp and I grab my knife from the ground. Too easy.

Further ahead, I spot Wakka, Tidus, and Auron. They're surrounded by several fiends—some flying and some land. Swallowing my anger for Auron, I start running towards them, intent on lending them a hand but a deafening shutter in the stadium stops me and I turn to look for the source of it.

Immediately, I spot Maester Mika's box with Seymour in full view. A large chain probably thicker than me has fallen from the sky and a horrible red and black void has opened up in the stadium. I watch in awe and horror as a monster bigger than any I've seen before—aside from Sin—is dragged out from the void. It's chained up and bandaged and screams as if in pain.

I feel my hands shake as I look down on my dagger, knowing that it would never be enough to fight with against this thing. But when I see Seymour standing with complete composure—smirking even, I realize that it's not a fiend, but an Aeon.

The Monster-Aeon screams again and sends out a bolt of light towards the fiends surrounding Auron, Tidus, and Wakka. The fiends instantly go up in pyreflies. Fiends all around the stadium are taken down by this Monster-Aeon's light attack—some in mid flight and some while attacking innocent people.

Slowly the stadium goes quiet as the screams of people lessen and the growls and shrieks of the fiends are silenced. Soon, the ghost like whispers of the pyreflies are all that is heard.

I look over where Tidus, Wakka, and Auron are standing—only to see that Auron is gone, disappeared. I run over to Tidus and Wakka.

"Where is he? Where did he go?" I demand.

"Forget Auron—did you see that?" Wakka says in awe while pointing the general direction of the huge Aeon which has now been dismissed.

I roll my eyes. "Yea, real great, awesome. But seriously, where'd he go?"

Wakka shrugs. "I dunno but I better look for Yuna—see if she's safe."

I nod and turn toward Tidus. His eyes are serious and I know he's thinking the same as me. "Come on," he says, "I'll help you look for him—we all need to talk."

"I swear to God," I mutter when we start leaving the stadium, "if he's in a café I'll kill him.

* * *

We don't find Auron in a café—instead we find him at the docks, the one we arrived at earlier in the day. He's standing by some crates as composed and calm as Seymour though he's definitely more unapproachable. He sees us and stands, leaving his large sword to lean against the crates behind him.

"Don't just stand there!" Tidus yells and rushes towards him. Tidus grabs the front of Auron's coat and shakes him. "All of this is your fault—getting swallowed by Sin, not being able to go back to Zanarkand, everything!"

I couldn't have said it better myself.

But the kicker? Auron _does_ just stand there. I see a smirk forming over the collar of his coat and then I hear the sound of laughter—not humorless but truly amused. Tidus and I exchange glances, unsure of what to do. If anything it's making us angrier. Finally Auron sobers up and his laughter fades away.

"Who are you?" I ask quietly. Auron turns away and doesn't say anything.

"You knew our fathers, didn't you," Tidus asks while gesturing at me. "And Yuna's father."

There's a moment's silence and Auron nods. "That's correct." His voice is flat, smooth.

Tidus glares at Auron. "That's impossible…"

"Nothing…impossible about," Auron says while facing both of us. "Braska, Jecht, Victoria, and I—together we defeated Sin ten years ago. Then, I went to Zanarkand where I watched over you so that one day, I could bring you to Spira—I did not know you'd be coming," he says, nodding at me. "Your mother did not say where you were so I could not look for you."

"Why did it have to be me?" Tidus asks while turning away.

"Jecht asked me to," is Auron's simple answer.

Tidus is silent, going through what Auron says in his mind—so am I. Finally, Tidus turns back to Auron. "Is he alive?"

Ah, the question we both want to ask but never get any answers from. I turn to Auron to see what he has to say.

"It depends," Auron says, "on what you mean by alive."

"What do you mean?" I ask slowly, unsure I want to know the answer. Tidus just stares at Auron.

"He is…no longer human," Auron continues calmly, as if talking about the weather, "but I felt something of Jecht in that shell—you must have felt it too, when you came in contact with Sin." Only then, at the name Sin, does Auron's urgency come out in his speech.

My blood turns cold when I realize what Auron must mean, what he must be saying. Tidus takes a step back and shakes his head rapidly. He's pale, as pale as I feel. "It can't be," he says.

But Auron locks eyes with Tidus and nods, serious and intense. "It is—Sin is Jecht."

"No!" Tidus shouts just as soon as the words leave Auron's mouth. "No—that's ridiculous, I don't believe you!"

And still Auron is calm, even as Tidus throws curses at him. "But it is, you'll see." Tidus turns away from us and Auron takes a step towards him. "Come with me."

"And if I say no?" Tidus asks with a thick voice.

Auron's answer is, once again, simple. "Every story must have an ending."

That sets Tidus off again, "I don't care about your stories!"

"Fine," Auron snorts, "come or don't come, it's your decision."

Tidus turns back around and I see that he's not only angry but upset; his eyes are red and threatening tears.

"What am I supposed to say!?" Tidus shouts—I flinch. "You tell me it's my decision but I don't have a choice do I? You're the only one who can tell me what's going on anyways—I have to go with you!"

"Irritating, I know," Auron says in his smooth voice, "or are you afraid?" He walks over to Tidus and almost hesitantly, he places a hand on Tidus' back as if for comfort. "It's alright," he says quietly.

Tidus closes his eyes and is silent for a moment. Finally, just as quietly as Auron, he asks "will I ever go home?"

"That's up for Jecht to decide," Auron says after a moment. He turns away again, "I'm going to go and offer my services to Yuna—come."

Tidus and I exchange looks once again as Auron starts to leave the dock but I snap forward, taking a step towards Auron, knowing that now or never, this is the time.

"Wait!" I shout at Auron. He stops and turns towards me and I can't read his expression. I take a deep breath. "What about…what about my mother? Victoria, where is she?" My voice is shaky and I stare at Auron expectantly.

Auron is silent for a moment as he regards me. Finally, he opens his mouth and his answer is the simplest yet: "I don't know."

And hearing those words, and remembering all the times when I wanted to yell and scream but didn't—nothing matters anymore. The moment Auron says those words, the dam in my mind breaks and I cry out and launch myself at him, running into his chest, beating my hands into him but none of it matters—his armor is too tough and I can't touch him. I beat harder as I feel something wet touch my lips and when I taste the salt, I realize I'm crying.

I feel hands circle around my waist and suddenly I'm pulled away from Auron. I kick out, trying to reach him but he's just standing there, unmoved and eyes covered by his damned sunglasses. I want to knock them from his face, get him to look at me—but I can't reach him.

"Mandy—stop it! Stop!"

The voice—Tidus' voice—is urgent, shocked even. One of his hands grabs my arms and turns me around. I glare up at him while he stares back, wide eyed and unsure. I know what he's thinking: he'd yell and scream, but he'd never dare hit Auron. But I don't care.

"He brought me here!" I shout at Tidus. "And my mother—no one can tell me where she is, no one knows. He _travelled_ with her and he doesn't know! At least you found out what happened to your dad—yea, its shit but you _know_." I pause, knowing that what I just said is out of bounds but Tidus doesn't say anything and instead lets go of my arm and takes a step back. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself.

"She was supposed to be _dead_," I continue quietly, "but now she's not but no one can tell me…" Both Auron and Tidus stare at me and I wipe away the new tears that have formed around my eyes. "I can't do this anymore—I can't hope for the dead."

"She's not dead," Auron says quietly and I flick my eyes over at him.

"How do you know?"

Auron is silent for a moment and I'm starting to really hate it when he is. "I felt it through Sin—Jecht knows where she is but is not saying anything."

Despite this, I can't help but laugh a small bit. "If something as big as Sin starts talking, I'm checking myself into a clinic."

"This is no laughing matter."

Trust Auron to bring me crashing down to Earth—er, Spira. "Yea, I know," I say. I then turn towards Tidus. "Wanna make your old man talk for me?"

Tidus snorts and pumps his fist in the air. "Yea, I'll be looking for my own answers."

"Then it's settled," Auron says while turning away. "We go find Yuna."

Yuna. Yea, it'd be nice to see her—her and her serene manner.

I watch Tidus and Auron leave the dock for a moment and close my eyes, wondering how everything got to this moment—the moment where I decide to join a mystical Summoner who's out to save the world all the while searching for my mother through the very thing she's out to destroy. Yea, just another day in the life.

At least I have a lead on the case of my missing mom…

* * *

A/N: Oh...my...God. I am sooo sorry it's taken this long to update. Ughugh. School's been kicking my ass. And most of my extra writing time was taken because I had to write a play for one class and if you've ever written a play, you'll know it's a bitch to do.

And oh man, I hated writing the Blitzball game--it was so hard lol. I'd much rather write a fight scene--which is weird because I can't even slap someone properly--but fight scenes are easy at least. The problem with writing in first person present tense is that it's not told by a third party narrator so who ever is narrating doesn't know what's going to happen and can't go into another POV. Writing a scene like the Blitz tournament can be a daunting task--at least for me--but if done right, it can bring the reader into the moment. I hope that's what I did for you guys.

On a completely random note, who's playing FF13? I am and oh man, it's beautiful, I love it.

Anyway, kudos to you if you've read all this. Tell me what you think; hope you liked it!


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